May 13, 2007 by His Kingdom Herald.

This morning I was re-reading the journal entry I wrote on The National Day of Prayer this year.

In the after math of the flooding here in Aberdeen, South Dakota, it takes on a new meaning.

The Lord, the Lord Almighty called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” Isaiah 22:12 and 13.

How can I explain what’s going on in my heart right now? There is such a heaviness and yet it’s not depression. Perhaps a more accurate word would be impression.

I sense such a seriousness.

This window of time between today’s NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER (May 3rd) and THE GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER (May 27th) is very significant.

Since the prayer walk on April 15th, the Holy Spirit has been emphasizing repentance, humility and fasting (see Isaiah 58) to MANY of our key intercessors here. Yesterday an intercessor shared with me a very thought provoking statement.

The essence of her statement was this: When God is sizing up a city; He’s not as interested in what the ungodly are doing as He is interested in what His people are doing (or not doing). He judges a city by what He sees going on among His people there.

What a sobering thought.

If God is calling His people into a season of prayer, fasting, repentance and humility what will He see when He looks at our city?

Repentance or revelry?
Humility or joy?
Fasting or eating and drinking?

Oh Daddy, help us. . .

WHAT IS GOD SEEING NOW AS HE LOOKS AT HIS PEOPLE IN ABERDEEN?

Friends of flood victims refusing a meal for themselves so that “someone else who really needs one can have it”.

Weeping and wailing as His people embrace victims who have lost so much.

Sheltering of the homeless.

A record shattering food drive by the local letter carriers (20,000 pounds!).

AND SO MUCH MORE. . .

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May 9, 2007 by His Kingdom Herald.

Pardon any typos and poor grammar, but this is gonna have to be quick.

Working. . .
Over 250 sack lunches twice a day plus an on-site hot meal. Drive by feedings from the canteen and a 14 passenger van in the areas hardest hit. Case work load breaking all time records. 200 flood kits distributed so far. A semi load of relief supplies landing this morning that will need to be unloaded, sorted and distributed.

Listening to stories. . .
Two different boat rescues. . .
One family pulled out of their home by an unknown someone. Dropped off on high ground and left to fend for themselves in the height of the storm.

Another rescue made more significant because it was their pastor at the helm who then took them to a hotel room and put them up for two nights on his personal credit card.

Watching. . .
(I’m not the only one watching - the congregations are watching their pastors, the city is watching the entire Christian community, and God is watching all of His people. Does their walk match their talk?)

Many pastors on 5 am to 11pm days fixing broken sump pumps, hauling out wet debris, getting tetanus shots because of the raw sewage they’re wading in all day. One pastor on our Emergency Disaster Services canteen, delivering food and comfort in his own neighborhood - his basement walls are caving in and he has just learned he’ll have to replace his entire basement. A Seventh Day Adventist pastor and a female Lutheran pastor praying with victims in the hallway of The Salvation Army Community Center. Would they have ever met under normal circumstances?

I firmly believe the best way to build a strong team is by walking through fire together.

The most interesting thing to me is the timing of all of this. Our emergency disaster coordinator had just met with the evangelical pastors a week ago to offer training on preparing your congregation for a disaster. I think God’s gotten our attention.

GOD MAKES ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSES.

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May 8, 2007 by His Kingdom Herald.

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring;
Isaiah 44:3 (NKJ)

Our area has been in the midst of a drought - in the PHYSICAL sense AND in the SPIRITUAL sense.

We’ve been asking God to replenish the subsoil moisture here.

We’ve also been asking him to flood the dry, thirsty ground in our souls.

THIS WEEKEND (SATURDAY MAY 5, 2007) GOD OPENED THE FLOOD GATES IN THE PHYSICAL REALM. . . over eight inches of rain in the course of a few short hours! As we struggle to cope with this abundance of water, I find myself standing in awe at God’s ability to do more than we could ever ask or imagine. I also find myself whispering this quiet prayer: “OH DADDY, FLOOD OUR HEARTS THE WAY YOU’VE FLOODED OUR LAND!”.

Steven Curtis Chapman has written a song called “Dive”. It’s based on Rom. 11:33-36; and Eph. 3:16-19

I just can’t seem to get this song out of my head!

The long awaited rains have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
and carved their way to where the wild and rushing river can be found.
And like the rains I have been carried here to where the river flows, yeah.
My heart is racing and my knee are weak as I walk to the edge.
I know there is no turning back once my feet have left the ledge.
And in the rush I hear a voice that’s telling me it’s time to take the leap of faith
So here I go!

I’m diving in, I’m going deep in over my head, I want to be;
caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head, I wanna go.
The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive.
So sink or swim, I’m diving in!

There is a supernatural power In this mighty river’s flow .
It can bring the dead to life and it can fill an empty soul.
And give a heart the only thing worth living and worth dying for, yeah.
But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God.
until we let ourselves get swept away into this holy flood.
So if you’ll take my hand we’ll close our eyes and count to three
and take the leap of faith.

COME ON LET’S GO !

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May 4, 2007 by His Kingdom Herald.

As I was browsing through the National Day of Prayer’s website I ran into this quote from Dr. Henry Blackaby and Claude King.

It was shared with the intercessors who met in the basement of the Brown County Court House at noon yesterday.

“Today we’re facing a period of moral and spiritual decline that is perhaps more rapid and widespread than ever in our history. Almost everywhere we go, we hear churches and people cry out for revival. They are saying that what they are experiencing is so bad, so dry, and so empty that they want a fresh touch from God. They want to experience God in the ways God’s people experienced His might power and presence in the Scriptures and in history. Some are experiencing a fresh breeze of God’s Spirit. Small mercy drops are falling in some localities. But many are saying, “We don’t know what to do.” Their heart cry is: “Is there a word from the Lord? What does God say we need to do?”

God’s Word has an answer for us. God has revealed Himself and His ways as He has worked with His people down through the ages. He has spoken clearly about His expectations and standards. He has revealed principles and described examples. He stands ready to pour out times of refreshing on the dry and thirsty ground of our lives. But He’s waiting on a people who are willing to pay the price of surrender and obedience to His will and His ways. He’s waiting on a people who will return with their whole heart to a love relationship with their Creator and Saviour. WILL YOU BE SUCH A PERSON? WILL YOU JOIN WITH OTHERS WHO ARE WILLING TO BE SUCH A PERSON?”

As we were visiting after our noon prayer time, two ladies shared with me that their small group had just finished up the 4 week study on prayer and transformation that this quote was promoting. They highly recommended this study to me, and so I now recommend it highly to you. It’s called “Fresh Encounter” and if you click on the title, you will be connected to The National Day of Prayer’s website where you can order a copy for yourself or your small group.

Here’s another little taste from the book to whet your appetite:

In Malachi 3:16 we read that “those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard.” We’ve prepared this devotional guide to facilitate that kind of conversation and prayer. We want God’s people to study His Word about revival and spiritual awakening. We want to help you talk about His will and His ways. We want to assist you in seeing His standards and choosing the return to Him. We want to encourage you to pray together with others to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Heb. 10:24)

We want God to move in our cities , in our nation and in our world; but often God requires that we provide part of the equation. Do we know what our part of the equation is? Are we willing to supply it?

LET’S SEEK THE LORD TOGETHER!

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May 3, 2007 by His Kingdom Herald.

The Lord, the Lord Almighty called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” Isaiah 22:12 and 13

How can I explain what’s going on in my heart right now? There is such a heaviness and yet it’s not DEpression. Perhaps a more accurate word would be IMpression.

I sense such a seriousness.

This window of time between today’s NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER and THE GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER (May 27th) is very significant.

Since the prayer walk on April 15th, the Holy Spirit has been emphasizing repentance, humility and fasting (see Isaiah 58) to MANY of our key intercessors here. Yesterday an intercessor shared with me a very thought provoking statement.

The essence of her statement was this: When God is sizing up a city; He’s not as interested in what the ungodly are doing as He is interested in what His people are doing (or not doing). He judges a city by what He sees going on among His people there.

What a sobering thought.

If God is calling His people into a season of prayer, fasting, repentance and humility what will He see when He looks at our city?

Repentance or revelry?
Humility or joy?
Fasting or eating and drinking?

Oh Daddy, help us. . .

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