PRAYER GUIDE 2014

WHAT’S GOD’S HEART FOR YOUR CITY?Thank you for joining the greater body of Christ in your city for a period of intentional discernment. What’s God’s heart for your city? Congregations are cooperating at increasing levels throughout the region, and this trend is even being seen in cities around the country. This is exciting!

When Jesus goes to pray in the garden he brings his friends. One significant aim of this time of prayer is the knowledge and solidarity of seeking God together. Ephesians 4:3 says to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” This means that unity already exists because of the Holy Spirit! It is simply our task to put in the effort to keep it, or remain a part of it. We cannot act out of isolation, but must show up at the table with the diversity that exists in the body as we seek after God’s direction. It is Christ who is the head, not politics or traditions, and as we move together we grasp more of what it means to be a member of the Body. This is why each devotional during these forty days have been submitted by different authors, from different cities participating around the Northwest.

There is a second direct aim of this time of prayer: the desire to remain on mission for the building of the kingdom of God. There is brokenness and beauty in our cities and it remains the task of the Church to go and make disciples, to bear witness to the good things God is doing, to challenge injustice and to help mend broken things. This resonates with Micah 6:8, “Do Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with our God.”

As we discern God’s heart we will undoubtedly be pulled into mission, and that is why this prayer guide is segmented into 7 spheres: Church, Health, Family, Education, Business, Government and Media/Arts. Each of us is uniquely designed and gifted to impact this world; we are made in God’s image! As we pray through these spheres, we hope to broaden our perspective of the community God has placed us in, and respond out of a combined sense of our gifting, our area of burden, and the call of God’s Spirit.

Communities are infinitely complex, and this segmentation into 7 spheres is simply a starting place. Your city’s prayer coordinator has supplemental information on what is going on in your city. Information can also be found on your city page at www.lightupthecity.org. These prayer guides will be posted daily on this site in blog form, where people can comment and share. Toward the end of the 40-days, a short survey will be posted on the blog for all participants so that we can collectively answer the question, “What’s God’s heart for our city?” Survey results will also be provided.

These are exciting times, the Church can no longer divide and conquer its-self; this is not a tolerable condition. Instead, we must submit to one another, and together to Jesus as we are guided by the Holy Spirit. May God be glorified!

Chris Gough

CONTENTS

CHURCH HEALTH FAMILY EDUCATION BUSINESS GOVERNMENT MEDIA/ARTS CHURCH

EDITED BY RAOUL T. PEREZ

APRIL 30REPENTANCERevelation 2:1-7, Joel 2:12-13

One of the first churches of the New Testament to show signs of needing revival was Ephesus in Revelation 2. They had abandoned their first love: Jesus Christ. The essence of the Christian life is a passionate love for Jesus and others and it was missing in Ephesus. Jesus warned Ephesus if they didn’t return to their first love he would remove their congregation (lampstand) from his presence.

In his love for Ephesus, Jesus admonished them, “Remember the height from which they had fallen.” Jesus directs them to recall a time when they had a passionate love for the Lord and, in remembering, return to that love through repentance.

To repent means to do an immediate U-turn in one’s life; to set aside those things which have stolen your passionate love for God and others, and turn back to them in love.

The admonishment to repent is as much for the Northwest Church as it was for Ephesus. For, in repentance, we will find forgiveness. In forgiveness, we will rediscover our first love. And, knowing our first love we will have access to the heart of God. May the fruit of repentance over the next 40-Days in the Northwest Church be the knowing of God’s heart.

REFLECTION1. What is in my life that seems to pull me away from my passionate love for the Lord?

2. What are those things that characterized my life when I first loved the Lord?

3. What repentance is the Lord calling your family, congregation, city to at this time?

Alec RowlandsEdmonds, WA.

MAY 1PRAYERColossians 4:2, Luke 18:1

There is a legacy of prayer deeply embedded in our Christian Scripture. Abraham prays for an heir; Isaac for his barren wife; Jacob for his betrayed brother; Moses for Israel; David for the heart of God. Jesus, too, is part of this deep legacy of prayer.

Jesus often prayed early in the mornings, at the end of long days, and sometimes all through the night. He prayed in solitary places, on mountainsides, in the wilderness, and in the garden. He prayed at nearly every major milestone of his life. Jesus taught his followers how to pray to the Father and how to say, “not my will, but yours be done.”

The early church followed after the way of Christ and was ‘devoted to prayer’ (Acts 1:14, 2:24, 6:4). The Bible regularly uses words like devoted, bold, earnest, persistent, constant, wrestling, day and night and non-stop to describe the prayer habits of the early church.

This legacy of devotion does not simply exist in the pages of Scripture; the legacy continues in the story of our lives as the Northwest Church.

As we pray together over the next 40-Days let us be encouraged that we are collectively participating in a long legacy of seeking the heart of the Triune God. And, the wonderful part about is, God will continue the legacy of hearing and responding to the prayers of his people. So, let us devote ourselves to prayer and not give up! The Lord hears and will respond.

REFLECTION1. How can we seek God boldly in prayer today?

2. What roadblocks prevent you from praying to God boldly?

3. How is God calling us to pray for the Church in our city?

Jason Hubbard Bellingham, WA.

MAY 2HUMILITY IN THE CHURCHPhilippians 2:3-5, Proverbs 22:4

When my wife and I and our four children returned to the U.S. after nearly a decade of ministry overseas, we landed in the middle of a divorce. Not our divorce, thankfully. Or so we thought.

Four months earlier, a wonderful spiritual family that had been my home church for years had fractured…split…and, yes, divorced. With front-page newspaper headlines, this flagship church’s ugly division had been announced to our entire community.

Night after night I found myself driving home, tears welling up from a day of trying to help people shell-shocked by the pain of this spiritual family split. People who had experienced divorce firsthand either as spouses or children commented over and over again how much this whole experience felt like the pain of their broken family.

Many local pastors told me that had they known the fallout this church’s split would have across the city they would never have stood quietly by watching it implode. It was just the beginning of what would be years of feeling the pain of our own spiritual family’s divorce.

That experience convinced me there is not a church conflict that humility will not prevent or heal. Nor is there a church division where selfish ambition and vain conceit do not rule. It is precisely here that the cross of Christ is so vital for the unity of God’s people. We can’t take up our cross and hold onto our pride at the same time. One will exclude the other.

Living in humility will usually mean real suffering too. But it will be God-ordained suffering. If truly knowing Christ is the passion of our lives, then “the fellowship of His sufferings” will usually precede “the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).

REFLECTION1. If we take Christ’s call to humility to the level of our communities, what would it look like for my congregation to be more concerned with the interests of another congregation in my community? Pray today for another congregation in your area and some of the challenges facing them.

2. What family or congregation do you know struggling with division or disunity? Pray for them to find healing in embracing the mindset of Christ and the humility of the cross.

3. Who is God asking you to relate to with greater humility and less pride? Pray through Philippians 2:3-5 asking God to make this your heart and practice.

John RepsoldSpokane, WA.

MAY 3EQUIPPING THE SAINTSEphesians 6:10-18, Acts 4:13

One morning I was downstairs reading my Bible when the other early riser in my house, 6-year old Simon, walked in. “Oh! You are reading Grandpa’s book!” The observation blew me away. My Dad and his love of God’s Word was already evident to his grandson…not because he told him it mattered but because he observed him reading, time and time again.

I had a friend once tell me people don’t need to try and act out what they believe because how they do act is what they believe. I think he is right. The things we say and the things we do need to be in line with one another in order to disciple others well. If in the course of discipleship we find ourselves having the answers to all questions and unable to say “I don’t know,” then we pass on a belief that Christianity is about having all the answers rather than about humility and love.

Jesus’ model of equipping the saints was to spend time with his disciples and to let them see him fully. He did stuff with them. This was also the model he requested of the Church, “Go and make disciples.” When we let people into our lives, they learn from our wisdom, but they also pick up on our areas of weakness. And when, es-pecially in our weakness, we turn back for God’s strength and God’s guidance, we do the best kind of equipping, we bring people back to Jesus…who alone is worth imitating.

REFLECTION1. Who is in my circle of influence? Pray for them, or pray God would bring people into your life. Pray for your church.

2. Who in your city is being ill-equipped, and what does it look like to step into their lives, and let them into yours?

3. Pray for the other congregations in your city, that their people would “be strong in the Lord…in his mighty power!”

Chris GoughRenton, WA.

MAY 4LOVE ONE ANOTHERJohn 13:35, John 15:9-16

Life Magazine once depicted a very sad story in a series of pictures. The first picture was of a vast wheat field in Kansas.

The second picture was of a mother in distress inside her farmhouse in the middle of that wheat field. She had a small boy who had somehow wandered away from the house into that wheat field. She and her husband had searched all day long for that little boy.

The third photo depicted all the people who had heard of the little boy being lost. As night was beginning to fall, they searched frantically all over the wheat field with no success.

The fourth picture was of the following morning with the friends and family joining their hands forming a long line of humanity which swept from one end of that wheat field to the next.

The last picture was a heartbreaker; it was of the father standing over the lifeless body of his little son. The cold night had claimed its victim. Underneath the final picture of a weeping father were these words, “Oh, God, if we had only joined hands sooner.”

Jesus, in John’s Gospel, tells us that it is by our love for one another that the world will know we are his disciples. More than just a confessing love, Jesus calls us to the acts of unity and sacrifice for one another. This is how the world will know we are his disciples. May we be proactive in our love for one another – unifying and sacrificing – rather than joining hands too late.

REFLECTION1. How can you lovingly pray for another congregation in your city?

2. In what ways can your congregation proactively love another congregation in your city?

3. What is a loving act among the Church of your city that would show your city you are Jesus’ disciples?

Bob ShepardWenatchee, WA.

MAY 5SPIRITUAL HEALTH3 John 1-4, 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Isn’t it interesting that most of the things that are good for us require some sort of discipline, while the things that are bad for us are often easier, more fun, and take little or no effort on our part?

For some reason, God has decided to let us choose the things we love. For example, I love pizza and burri-tos, sports on TV, relaxing with nothing on the agenda – in short, things that make me feel good, but aren’t necessarily good for me. I find them easy to do, they require no discipline and are fun in the short term, but do not lead to any kind of long term health.

If I want to be in good physical health I have to make choices to do (and even to love) things that require some discipline.

I have to make good choices in the spiritual realm, also, by embracing the truth of what God says about life, relationships, and joy.

I must learn to love truth – truth about what God says about Himself and about life in all its dimensions. God alone has truth concerning those around me, and the health of the values and practices of culture/society. To live in health and prosperity I must love and allow His truth to illuminate the direction of my spiritual health.

Good news! Jesus Christ is the Truth! His words are true, and carry the power of life. This season let us fall more in love with Him, love His truth, and experience the full health and prosperity of soul which are sure to follow.

REFLECTION1. What are some simple steps you can take on a daily basis to listen to Jesus’ words of truth, learn to love His truth, and set a course toward spiritual health in your life?

2. As you listen to Jesus’ truth about you and about life, ask yourself what lies you have believed that have led to poor health – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually?

3. What is God’s heart for your city grow in spiritual health? What are the spiritual strongholds in your city?

Gary WiensFederal Way, WA.

MAY 6PHYSICAL HEALTHJohn 9:1-41

A young man who had just begun coming to our congregation had an accident at work. He had somehow gotten his foot into an industrial chipper and it crushed his toes to pulp.  After the doctors took x-rays and bandaged his foot, they told him to come back in 3-weeks when they expected to have to shave off part of his foot.

Prior to returning to that 3-week appointment, this young man came to our service and asked for prayer for his foot. I led the team in speaking to the foot and the injury and commanding healing in Jesus’ name. 

Every week that the young man returned to our congregation and we prayed for him I noticed the shape of his toes begin to show through his sock. On the third Sunday he returned walking on his foot in a cowboy boot!  He testified that the doctors were extremely confused and kept looking at the x-rays wondering if this was the same young man.  They told him they had no explanation, but that the only injury to his foot was a slight hair-line crack in his big toe bone and that he should go home and thank God – which he did immediately in their presence!

We have all had the experience of being healed from an ailment, whether miraculous or common, we know the joy of healing. When we make it a practice to thank God for our health, God will both care for our physical need and use your thankful attitude to witness to those who ask, “Aren’t you the person who used to be sick? How did you get better?” May God be glorified in and through the testimonies of our physical health!

REFLECTION1. Pray for a spirit which gives thanks to God for your physical health.

2. Is there a healing for which you have been unwilling to ask God? Consider praying now for the faith to believe in the Great Physician’s power to heal.

3. What’s God’s heart for the Church in your city to be caring for those in need of physical health and healing?

George GuntermannSalem, OR.

MAY 7ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHRomans 8:18-25, Deuteronomy 8:3

Have you ever heard someone groan? It’s a painful sound, like fingernails on a chalkboard. What a surprise, then, to hear Paul declare that the earth is groaning in Romans 8. He talks about creation groaning and suffering the pains of childbirth, personifying the earth to help us see the affects of the fall extend beyond our own broken hearts; the whole earth suffers too.

This might be hidden to we who live in one of the most beautiful regions on the planet. But look carefully, and you’ll find deforestation, increased toxicity levels in the Puget Sound with resulting species decline, decreased oxygen levels in the waters of the Hood Canal and more. The health of our air, soil, and waters is intimately tied to the ability of God’s children to live an abundant life in God.

God’s creation is a critical part of God’s revelation to his children. God’s creation does more than sustain us physically; it also reveals God’s character, inviting us to turn towards God in worship and gratitude. This is why caring for God’s creation is critical to preserving God’s revelation and our source of abundant living.

May our hearts be turned to care for the health of the environment so we may preserve the revelation of God to us, his children.

REFLECTION1. In what ways do you see the Lord’s revelation in the environment? What does it say to you?

2. Is there some form environmental care the Lord has put on your heart to do? Can you see how preserves the Lord’s revelation?

3. Is there an environmental issue to which God is calling the Church of your city to care?

Richard DahlstromNorth Seattle, WA.

MAY 8COMMUNAL HEALTH1 John 3:18, Jeremiah 29:4–7

Donna was teaching the second and third grade Sunday School class and she asked the question, “How do we care for our neighbors?” One of the second graders said, “We need to pray for them.” The class got excited. A couple weeks later, the children stood before the whole congregation and asked the adults to join a club they were forming: The Prayer Walkers Club. If you joined you agreed that you would walk at least once weekly around the community and pray for your neighbors. Everyone who joined was given a membership card to remind them to pray for the people of our city as they walked. This was an incredible and wonderful treat for our community. Children teaching adults about praying was a priceless lesson to learn and really contributed to the health of our community.

What was particularly powerful about The Prayer Walkers Club was its focus on the neighbors of the city we live in. Jeremiah tells us to press-into the city we live in, to invest in it, and to seek its welfare. By prayer walking we saw neighborhoods we had never seen before. We met neighbors we had not known and learned about them. This inevitably led to opportunities and projects we may never had entered into without prayer walking.

John tells us to “not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.” By being challenged by our children to pray for our city, we have learned a new way to love our neighbors in deed and truth.

REFLECTION1. Pray for the welfare of your city today.

2. What is something your congregation can do which will let your neighbors know that you care about your city?

3. What’s is God’s heart for how the Church of your city may visibly contribute to the health of your city?

Worth WilsonCle Elum, WA.

MAY 9RELATIONAL HEALTHMatthew 22:36-40, 1 John 1:9-10, Ephesians 4:1-3

While jogging one day, Bob saw a man laying in the shade. He was shoeless and dirty. Bob asked if he was ok. Startled, the man sat up and said “Yes. Yes…I’m sorry, do you need me to move?”

“No” Bob replied. “I just saw you and wanted to make sure you weren’t sick or hurt or something.” The man said, “All day people have gone by, but you are the only one who has asked me if I’m okay.”

Jesus’ teachings were heavy with how we should relate with one another. Love is a relational construct. It’s a “transitive” verb, meaning that it describes a movement from one person, place or thing to another. Love is expe-rienced as healthy relationship. Sin is experienced as broken relationship.

This is why Jesus calls us to confess with one another. Confession is the pathway to healthy relating—with God, with others and even with ourselves. We confess our sins to God, not so much for some form of legal absolution, but in order to make the relationship right.

If we do not love one another we are no different from the world. Our relationships matter deeply, and we must strive to love our neighbor, maintaining the unity the Spirit has provided to us. How we live with each other is how we “live a life worthy of the calling we have received.”

REFLECTION1. What needs to be confessed and forgiven in your own relationships-- with God, others, yourself ? How might The Church or your congregation confess how we have failed our community?

2. How is my relationship with God? Family members? Neighbor?

3. How can we relate better with one another in the Body of Christ?

Mike JohnsonDes Moines, WA.

MAY 10MARRIAGEGenesis 2:24, Ephesians 5:21-22; 33

After presiding over a wedding that joined the bride’s parents with the ranks of empty nesters, I spoke with the father of the bride in the parking lot. He looked at me and asked, “What do we do now? My wife and I have nothing in common beyond our kids.”

I was at a loss. As I reflected on the five years that I had known the family I realized the only interests they shared were attending church functions and rooting for the Seattle Mariners baseball team.

It is hard to say why people drift apart, but a clue may be in how we see our union in the first place. When a man and a woman enter into marriage, they are entering into a new reality: becoming a single divinely created entity with another person where Jesus Christ is the bonding agent. Just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three-in-one, so also are husband, wife, and Lord three-in-one. They are still individuals in all their diversity, but they are now to live and act as one flesh. A person never hated their own flesh, but rather treated it with love. As you are one with your spouse, love them as your own flesh. Do all you are able to maintain the bond of peace with them and to have a collective attitude of thankfulness towards Jesus Christ.

REFLECTION1. In what ways can I grow in compassion with my spouse, hurting when they hurt and rejoicing when they rejoice?

2. How can your congregation show further support of married couples in your faith-family?

3. Pray to know what’s God’s heart for how the Church in your city can care for married couples around you?

Steve WhelanMonroe, WA.

MAY 11MOTHERS1 Kings 3:16-28

Not long ago, I learned about a teenage boy who was about to be taken away from his natural mother due to her neglect of him. The teenage boy had developed a curve in his spine sitting alone all day long playing video games. His teeth had rotted away by eating whatever junk he could find in the house. He had terrible social anxiety and unaddressed learning disabilities. His mother even coached him on what medications to ask the therapist for when visiting our facilities so the drugs could be passed along to her. 

When I learned CPS was going to take this young man away, God put a mother on my mind who had expressed a willingness to take in a foster child. I explained his situation and my sense of things to her, and also offered her an out, but soon heard back that she and her husband were willing to take this young man into their home.  Over the next months, she would vacillate as to whether she was really the right person to care for the wild and varying needs of this young man. With a lot of coaching and encouragement and prayer, she did decide to be the young man’s permanent mother.

After one year, the differences in the young man’s life were outstanding; he had really become a part of this family and loved it.  He had gained recognition in the community for a new skill he acquired (painting), his teeth were fixed, his back was nearly straight, his attitude was better, his habits were healthier, and his foster family had committed to seeing him through his remaining years of high school.  In the end, it seems that a commitment to permanence is what was needed, not the perfect situation. Knowing his new mother would always be there and sacrifice for him made all the difference in the young man’s life.

REFLECTION1. Let’s pray and be thankful for the consistent presence of our mothers for their children.

2. How can your congregation make it easier for mothers to make their needs known to the community?

3. What’s God’s heart for how the Church in your city can be a Mother to foster children?

Steve StrombomEnumclaw, WA.

MAY 12FATHERSLuke 15:20-25, Psalm 27:10

Recently, my congregation held a Purity Conference for young girls and young women ranging from the ages of 10 to 25. My assignment was to close the two-day event by speaking on the “Father’s Love.” In my introduc-tory remarks, I asked the question, “how many of you girls love your dad, and how many of you don’t really like your dad?”

About 60 percent of the girls enthusiastically raised their hands with affectionate smiles while the other 40 percent twisted in their chairs making it perfectly clear their dads were not one of their favorite people.

When the conference ended, I asked a sweet eleven year old girl named Kimmy if she enjoyed the conference. She responded by saying, “I liked it, but I cried two times.”

“Why did you cry?” I asked.

With a tear in her eye she said, “I cried when you talked about not having a daddy yourself.”

My heart went out to this little girl. I knelt down and gave Kimmy a big daddy hug!

When I made it home, I told my two daughters what happened. The first words out of their mouths were, “Dad, did you give her a big hug?” I told them, “I sure did!”

Fathers are so important in their children’s lives. Kids need their fathers. In our cities today there is a massive shortage of good and present fathers. The Church has the opportunity to show the love of our Heavenly Father to a fatherless generation. We can be the ones who give the-soul-hungering-for-a-father’s-love a big hug. The Church can proclaim to the fatherless in our city that God is a father who loves them and will never leave them!

REFLECTION1. What are ways we can encourage fathers who are doing a great job?

2. Are their ways we can come alongside children who are living with a father wound?

3. What is God’s heart for your city in the ways it can show the Father’s love to a fatherless generation?

Mark StrongPortland, OR.

MAY 13CHILDRENMatthew 19:14, Luke 12:32

On a crisp February morning, I embarked to the park with my four-year-old son and our eager golden retriever. As we traversed a rock wall, Cade’s Chuckit! transformed into a blazing sword to cut down any branch before him. By his third swing, he inadvertently launched the tennis ball into a thick brier patch below.

Semi-distraught, Cade asked, “What should we do, Daddy?” I quickly ruled out an expedition through the bog and briers in favor of a better option: “Let’s ask Jesus for another tennis ball!” Cade liked the idea: “You pray, Daddy!” I smiled, squatted down to his eye-level and confidently said, “Do you know that He loves to hear you pray, and He listens whenever you talk to Him? I think you should ask Him.”

Cade prayed, “Jesus, we lost our tennis ball. Will you please give us a new one? Thank You, Jesus. Amen.” We entered the forest on a game trail, and less than two minutes later, we found a dew-soaked, bright green tennis ball atop some fallen branches. Cade laughed with delight. “Hey!” he said with a huge smile, “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

My heart swelled with gratitude. “Thank You, Jesus!” Instead of hunting down the ball to fix our own problem, we paused to ask God for help. Instead of a ball from Costco, Cade got a ball from God. How thrilling at four years old to receive such an immediate answer to your prayer, proving God really is there and really does care.

Jesus calls to each of us, “Come to Me!” He wants to be our source and solution for every hope, dream, need or decision. What are the implications for our city when we change and become like little children – filled with awe, free from fear, bold and stouthearted, wildly expectant, yearning for adventure, fully alive on God’s great dance floor?

REFLECTION1. Ask God, “What game do you want to play with me, Father?” What does He say?

2. How can you help a child you know to discern the Lord’s voice?

3. In what child-like activities does God desire to engage the Church in your city?

Reed WarrickSnoqualmie, WA.

MAY 14SPIRITUAL FAMILIESLuke 3:21-22, Psalm 2:7, Psalm 68:6

There are two ways to read these verses from Luke 3. A common approach is what I call the “Dry Interpretation”. By this I mean these words describe an isolated event witnessed by a group of bystanders who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the interaction of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This means what we have here is a story in which you and I are spectators.

Another approach is what I call the “Wet Interpretation”. By this I mean that these words were an invitation which includes everyone who believes in the name of Jesus. The Church! In this interpretation there are no spectators. Everyone who really hears these words finds their feet reflexively moving from the dry land to the water. In this interpretation these words are intended to awaken the deep longings resident in every human heart. It is this awakened desire to belong which moves us to close the gap between our lives and the life Jesus demonstrates.

Being a part of God’s family has three distinct markers. Possession – You are mine… Think about this in context of Exodus, “Let my people (family) go.” Identity – You are My Son… This is the leaving behind of false identities that always lead to slavery – again think Exodus. Affection – You are My Son, My Beloved in whom I delight… we are not just technically in, but we are a delight to the Father!

REFLECTION1. What does it mean to belong to the spiritual family of God when we feel rejected or isolated?

2. What false identities are pushing their way into the life of our community? What do we need to be reminded of as sons and daughters?

3. Who is lonely in our community and needs the security - the sense of possession - that accompanies adoption into the family of God?

Rick PadgettPortland, WA.

MAY 15SAFE & DIGNIFIED ENVIRONMENT1 Samuel 17:45-47, Psalm 91:9-11

When David met Goliath in battle, he did not do so in the conventional might-vs.-might way. Even though Goliath kept taunting Israel to send their strongest warrior, David stepped forward with another kind of power. In an unconventional way, David met Goliath with the name of the Lord Almighty rather than might and emerged victorious despite all odds.

We serve a living God who we can trust to be present in every circumstance.

I am reminded of an elderly woman who devotes herself as a substitute teacher in a Washington state school district. Just yesterday, answering the call to sub in a high school Special Education EBD (Emotionally Behaviorally Disturbed) classroom of mostly boys, she hobbled into the room.

Unafraid, she set the ground rules and appealed to their sensitivity for the elderly. Without looking at their outward appearances of intimidation, foul language, physical harassment, body odor, and ADD tendencies, she chose to focus on their need for structure, consistency, consideration, respect, persistence, and love.

She was not afraid to tackle the tough stuff, for she knew the Lord would continue to be her refuge, and the Most High her dwelling; that no harm would overtake her because His angels would guard her. In doing this she also raised up the students by believing they could be respectful and responsive if given the structure. Like David, she knew and trusted in the power of God’s presence for herself and for her students.

REFLECTION1. How could churches in your community be effective in reaching out to schools in your area together?

2. What are some simple strategies for sharing God’s love within our public school settings?

3. How is God calling the Church in your city to provide safety and dignity in the classroom for teachers and students alike?

Lydia BrownRainier Valley (Seattle), WA.

MAY 16TEACHERSJames 3:17-18

Father, we pray for teachers throughout the NW. We ask that they would seek first the Kingdom of God. That the wisdom they hold would not be the wisdom of this world, but wisdom that comes from above. And that righteousness would rain down from heaven, causing salvation to spring up from the earth.

PRAYGod, give teachers wisdom of heart, showing true care for each child they are teaching. Pray that teachers would build the kind of relationships with students that draw out gifting and talents, and cause young people to believe that they matter in the world.

God, give teachers wisdom in speech. That their words would be words that bring life, build others up and create an environment of emotional safety and peace. Pray that the very atmosphere would be changed in classrooms by the words that are spoken by teachers.

God, give teachers wisdom that brings discernment and understanding in difficult situations. Every day, in addition to teaching, educators help solve conflicts, encourage perseverance, and listen to stories of what is happening in kids’ lives outside of school. Pray for gentleness in teachers that brings hope and healing.

God, grant humility to teachers allowing them to always be teachable themselves and to learn from those around them. Pray for collaborative efforts in schools and for true community to be built among staff.

God, build integrity in teachers – that they would know who they are created to be, walking confidently and understanding that their position changes lives.

Renee BoucherPortland, OR.

MAY 17RESPECTColossians 3:13-17

Creating space to hear peoples’ stories is important. Probing and letting people muse in their telling, conveys our interest and respect. But what if the space is loud and agitated? What if a person doesn’t know their story is of value to the community? What if the language of the story doesn’t make sense to the listener?

I’ve spent many times coaxing a student named Efrem out of tantrums, refereeing disagreements between him and kids in our afterschool program and tossing toys he had demolished. I’ve retrieved stolen items from his backpack. How can one little kid repeatedly stir up so much angst and trouble?

Then one day Efrem turns to me and asks, “How old will I be in 7 years?” That’s random, I thought.

I said, “You’re almost 7 now, so you’ll be 14. Why?”

Efrem shrugged his shoulders and said, “Huh. My dad gets out of jail in 7 more years.”

In that moment, I experienced a different Efrem. He’s just a boy waiting for his dad to come home.

Everyone has a story. Children too. Their stories are compelling because they’re often tucked into the randomness of their questions and matter-of-fact conversations. But, if there’s an ear to truly listen, we would hear and get understanding.

REFLECTION1. How can you show respect to a child who looks up to you?

2. Is there a way your congregation can hear and learn more about the stories of your children?

3. What’s God’s heart for the Church in your city to honor and respect teachers and students alike?

Margo FaneneWhite Center (Seattle), WA.

MAY 18TRUTH & INTEGRITY IN THE CLASSROOM1 Corinthians 2:14, Proverbs 22:6

A friend of mine’s 5-year-old daughter asked her dad the other day, “Who is God? Who created Him? And why do we worship Him?” Wow! Deep questions coming from a 5-year old, but they are the same questions that most adults ask too. However, most kids today are raised in educational systems without a Christian worldview and are coming up with half-truths to their deep questions.

The natural mindset described in 1 Corinthians 2 is exalted in today’s society and spiritual truth is considered foolishness. Kids today face the gauntlet of natural thinkers who assume the things of God are valueless, and God himself, a fairy tale. Kids are left wondering what is right and what is true.

So how do we train up our children in the way they should go? First, we must remember we are our children’s chief educators and should not abdicate that to another; second, by uplifting the truth of Jesus Christ in our lives for our children to see; finally, by praying for Christ’s truth to reign in the lives of the culture around us.

REFLECTION1. Let’s pray that parents would take an active role in educating and instilling a Christian worldview in their children.

2. Let’s pray for the truth ( Jesus Christ) to be made known to educators and students alike.

3. Is God calling the Church in your city to partner with schools?

Phil VancePullman, WA.

MAY 19HUMILITY IN EDUCATION2 Samuel 12:1-15, Phillippians 2:5-8

Have you ever found yourself engrossed in a story someone was telling only to soon find out the story had deeper implications for yourself than you knew! Scripture has a few stories of its own for us in this regard. One is when the prophet Nathan was sent by God to convict David of his adultery. Instead of just saying it, Nathan tells David a story of injustice about which David quickly becomes angry. David pronounces judgment against the unsavory man in the story prompting Nathan to respond, “You are the man!” David immediately humbled himself.

Paul does a similar thing by referencing the story of Christ’s mindset in life and then calls his readers to have the same mindset in themselves. By drawing his readers into agreement about the humble and sacrificial mindset of Jesus, Paul can call his readers to have a similar mindset which does not think of selfish desires, personal gain or self-driven pleasures, but rather considers the needs of others. Jesus’ life is like a storehouse of truth from which Paul draws upon to call believers to humble themselves and live a life worthy of God.

In the same way, may the stories of our children be used by God to educate and humble our educators. We read on Day 18 that everyone has a story, even children. May our educators hear those stories, humble themselves, and respond with compassion to students.

REFLECTION1. Pray for the humility of our educators as they engage the varying personal stories of students.

2. In what ways can you help educators know and understand the stories of your children?

3. In what ways does humility play a part in the classroom in the schools of your city?

Ivory HarrisSkyway (Seattle), WA.

MAY 20JOBSLuke 19:11-23, Deuteronomy 28:12

I know a godly man who labored at the business of farming for years. He was diligent at his business and God blessed him and his family in it. As the story goes, he would gather his family and walk the fields before harvest, anointing the plants with oil and praying a good yield over them.

God indeed heard and answered the prayers of this man and his family, and as they continued in their diligent ways God blessed and prospered them and their business ventures.

Over time, more fields were acquired, more crops were planted and more yield came forth, and more employees were hired. This process continued until the man expanded the business beyond planting and harvesting the crops and he began to process his crop into an even more readily marketable product.

The new division of the business prospered and began to process other farmers’ product as well. More orders came in and more product was sold and shipped out. The man continued to be diligent in his business as well as living a life of faith well pleasing to God. This part of the business eventually became a major supplier of french fries to one of the largest chains of restaurants in the United States.

The man has since sold his interest in the business and while he is still living a godly life by faith, he is now enjoying other adventures and different business pursuits. Rest assured he is still diligent at business and still being blessed and prospered by God. He also is quick to be thankful to God and to give God all the glory for all God has done for him.

REFLECTION1. In what ways is God’s abundant blessing evident in your work?

2. How does God honor the work of your hands when you are diligent to give him the glory?

3. Pray that more people turn and give glory to God in their work.

Rick Jolly Yakima, WA.

MAY 21CREATIVITY & GROWTHGenesis 11:1-9, Matthew 23:12

My five-year old son heard me walk in the front door of our house. “Daddy, close your eyes and put out your hands,” he said. I did as I was instructed, and when he said, “Open your eyes,” there before me was a drawing of a brown dog with floppy ears and black eyes. Seth said, “I made it for you. Is it good?” With a smile on my face, I said, “It is great, and it will hang in my office.”

God has made us in His image (His character). As a creative, innovative, prolific God, we too have these same innate inclinations. Yet, we also have inclinations that are not of God’s nature. When the world was broken due to human sin, these good, God-given gifts turned self-serving.

In Genesis 11, we see a people in the land of Shinar (Babylon) who are employing their innate skills. They are thinking outside the box. They are innovating with new technology to build higher and bigger than ever before.

But, there was a problem: the God-given gifts were being used for self-exalting purposes. They said, “...let us make a name for ourselves.” They took a beautiful gift and tarnished it with the stain of self. Jesus taught the seemingly oxymoronic lesson of this life needed to flourish as a Christian: “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Employer/employee, go, be productive in a way that doesn’t serve yourself but others. Create, innovate, proliferate for God and others. Your heavenly Father cherishes your coming to Him and saying, “I made this for You!”

REFLECTION1. Father, how might I humble myself today, so my work is done for greater purposes?

2. What makes Christian work different than all other work?

3. What’s God’s heart for how the businesses in your city could make a difference with their creativity?

Phil SpagnoloPuyallup, WA.

MAY 22COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATIONExodus 4:20, Ephesians 3:20

For forty years Moses had used his rod for many of the everyday needs when caring for his flock in the desert. Yet, when Moses encountered God in the burning bush, a new dimension of his rod was revealed to him that would one day be used to part the Red Sea, release water from the rocks in the desert, and release the power of God as the Israelites engaged the enemy. The rod was no longer common and just for Moses’ personal use; it was now extraordinary and for the good of all the Israelites.

David also, when facing Goliath, rejected the sword and armor of Saul and reached for that which was most familiar (5 smooth stones and his sling) and brought great victory for all of Israel. (1 Sam. 17:20–53)

Many times our greatest resource is something so familiar to us that we never consider it to be a transformative tool in the Kingdom of God.

What is in your hand which has the potential to change your community, to unify the body of Christ even more? Are you willing to use what you have for the greater good for God’s kingdom?

Never underestimate the power of God in taking the “simple” things of our lives and doing “exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think.”

REFLECTION1. Are there common tools that you have that God could use for his purposes?

2. Do you see ways your church could use its ordinary gifts for the extraordinary in your community?

3. What is God’s Heart for community transformation in your city?

Garth JohnsonBaker City, OR.

MAY 23INTEGRITYProverbs 13:11, Deuteronomy 24:14-15

When I think of examples of integrity I don’t have to go far, as my father modeled this virtue as well as anyone I know. On one occasion our family was traveling upstate to visit our grandmother. We stopped at a gas station for gas, toilet and a Coke. At that time we would leave a deposit for their glass bottles; but normally we were done by the time we left the station.

Well, my sister decided to take hers in the car without leaving a deposit. When we got down the road about 5 miles or so, my father saw her with that coke in the back seat, and asked if she made that two-cent deposit. When he learned she didn’t, he promptly turned the car around and went back to that gas station. Now, that station would have never known the difference, but we did. No amount, even a two-cent deposit is too small to claim as ours if it’s due to another party.

REFLECTION1.Am I a person of integrity that can be trusted completely, or are there some areas of my life where I cut corners?

2. Do people I do business with know that I will give them exactly what they expect from me, whether a full day’s work or a product that is all I say it is?

3. How can the Church in your city be known in the community as the people that will be faithful to its word and commitments to its neighbors?

Steve UlmerShoreline, WA.

MAY 24MONEYMatthew 6:19-24, Deuteronomy 8:16-18

Where we store things has a direct impact on their longevity. Gardeners know they cannot store their tools outside in the dirt, or else rain will quickly rust them. They store them in a shed where they will be dry and able to be used for many years to come. This is the very idea Jesus tries to convey to us when it comes to our treasures, but the decision has eternal implications.

Jesus says, “Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth.” Why? Because they won’t last. Either they will deteriorate, break, diminish in value or we will lose them to a thief.

It isn’t the accumulation of treasures in and of itself Jesus seems to be concerned about; rather, he is concerned with attitude and location. “Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit,” he says to address our attitude towards earthly treasures. As we acquire we ought to hold these treasures loosely and even be acquiring them for the benefit of others. This is a tangible way to love others as ourselves with money.

Further, Jesus reminds us there are two storerooms. The storeroom on earth (where treasures won’t last) and the heavenly storeroom where what is put in that storeroom will last forever. When we trust our future to Jesus he deposits that faith in the heavenly storeroom and guarantees an eternal dividend.

REFLECTION1. How can you use your earthly treasures to help others invest in eternal treasures?

2. Pray for a Holy-Spirit-strategy from God on how to use the resources He has given you for his glory.

3. What’s God’s heart for how the Church in your city can pool resources to point many to eternal treasure?

Greg FordDuPont, WA.

MAY 25WISDOMDaniel 2:20-22, James 3:13-17, 1 Kings 3:5-14

Good leaders are very much aware of their limitations. Great leaders are driven to seek God.

During a particularly difficult time for the Union during America’s Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln’s son Willie died in the White House. Overcome with grief and with the immensity of the decisions he needed to be making on behalf of the nation, Lincoln confessed, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the over-whelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of those about me seemed insuffi-cient for the day.”

When the Lord appeared in a dream to Solomon at Gibeon, He offered him whatsoever his heart de-sired. Solomon could have asked for riches and long life, but because he was a great leader, he confessed his inadequacy (“I am but a little child”) and asked for “an understanding heart”. The Hebrew for this phrase is literally “a heart that listens”.

Columnist Doug Larson said, “Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” Among leaders today, who has a truly listening heart? Who is willing to confess their inadequacies? Who is driven to their knees by the overwhelming conviction that they have nowhere else to go?

Pray that the Lord would raise up more listening and humble leaders in our city. Leaders with the wisdom to seek the face of the Lord to guide them in the leadership. May the fruit of meekness be evident in their lives.

REFLECTION1. Who in your city do you see as a model of this type of wisdom? What are some practical ways you can bless this type of leader?

2. Do you know of any prospective leaders that the Lord might be raising-up? What can you do to support them?

3. What are some of the challenging issues in your city that require great wisdom in governance?

Jenny McCoyTukwila, WA.

MAY 26PROTECTIONJohn 15:13, Psalm 91

As the wife of a brave police officer and a retired US Coast Guard Commander, I have come to appreciate the risks that our men and women who serve in law enforcement, fire and rescue, and our military must face every day. They are motivated to serve and care for the land and people of their communities, facing unknown risks and circumstances for which they have diligently trained, and sometimes, for things which they lack experience and wisdom. They do not know what the day will bring, what fears they will have to face, and the kinds of things they will see.

We as a community trust that they will show up! In our time of need we know we can pick up the phone and someone will come to our aid. This is a great relief to us.

This sense of support and comfort is also something our service people desire to know. They desire to know from us that we support them in their service to our cities and nation. Expressions of gratitude certainly go a long way. But, another tangible way to bless our service people is to pray for them. It is a great need among service people that they know the comfort of God being with them in moments of crisis. They need to know intimately the same promise God gave to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” ( Joshua 1:9).

Let us be there for each other in our times of need.

REFLECTION1. How can we as the Body of Christ provide “Back-up support” from home and congregations consistently?

2. How do we as neighbors reach out to our men and women who take care of us on a daily basis? Can we lay down our lives for them? Can we pray? Can we speak words of appreciation and do acts of kindness?

3. What is God’s heart for our fire fighters, police officers, and military in the Northwest?

Linda HanrattyTillamook, OR.

MAY 27PEACE IN THE CITYJeremiah 29:7

Since becoming a follower of Christ the reality of peacefulness has been on a continuous evolution.

Living a peaceful life used to mean living life removed from chaos or pain. That definition lasted only until I began to understand not only the peace that Jesus brings, but the peace into which He has invited us to live. In striving to understand His peace, I have been led into places of significant chaos and pain. The world offers a peace through a lens that might suppress chaos and pain, but doesn’t speak to it. Jesus’ peace gives us the ability to look deeply into our own woundedness, find healing there and in so doing speak to the wounds of others.

Others receiving the gift of God’s unrelenting peace is how the prosperity of a city is found, as well as our own. The peace that God is calling us to live into, both individually and collectively, is a wellspring that can be sought but never found in any other source but Jesus.

REFLECTION1. Pray that peace would come to the hurting and chaotic places in your city.

2. Are there any challenging situations God is calling you to be the person of peace?

3. What is God’s heart for how the Church in your city can be a beacon of peace in a hurtful and chaotic circumstance?

Bobby MartinBurien, WA.

MAY 28INTEGRITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, JUSTICEProverbs 14:34, Proverbs 10:9

I went out to my shop the other day to retrieve some tools for a home repair project I was doing, only to find my 8-year old had initiated a project of his own. He apparently was attracted to the chrome-colored lid on a can of spray paint and proceeded to paint the shop doors, various car parts, the light switch and the new chrome wheels on my 1966 Dodge Charger.

Needless to say, his artistic contributions were unwelcomed, but they did provide the catalyst for a conversation regarding personal integrity. While he initially assumed “no one would ever know”, the markings of his mis-steps were too obvious to ignore and drew unwanted attention he had hoped to avoid. My son confessed to the deed, knowing he had done something wrong and is currently working on a “cleanup” project of which his father heartily approves.

Integrity has often been described as “who you are when no one is looking.” Our personal integrity is of critical concern to God, who desires to shape our character to reflect His own.

Our cities and our state are often a reflection of the integrity of those who are elected to office as servants “to do you good” (Romans 13:4). So let us pray for and trust the Lord that our government leaders will maintain integrity in all their dealings for the sake of our cities.

REFLECTION1. What is God’s will for those who are elected to offer leadership in government?

2. How can your prayer affect the lives of those who are elected to serve your city and our state?

3. How critical is personal integrity in the lives of those who lead our cities and state?

Matthew KlausLacey, WA.

MAY 29EFFECTIVENESSProverbs 16:9, James 5:16

Recently, I helped co-lead an overnight retreat for our congregation’s worship team. For a few months I prepared for the retreat which would be focused on “Hearing the Lord’s Voice.” As the trip approached, I was feeling par-ticularly good about all the planning and the details which would usher in a successful experience for my team.

The first night, everything was going according to plan. We settled into our rooms, we ate, we had our first session, people were hearing from the Lord; all good stuff. Then, as you do at camp, we played a game outside in the dark. That’s when the unforeseen happened – I tore a ligament in my ankle during the game! My thoughts were, “Is this it? Is the retreat going to be cancelled? Will people now not be led in hearing from the Lord?” How does that line go? “Oh, ye of little faith.”

In fact, my injury seemed to spur people on to a deeper desire to hear from the Lord. Not only did they pray deeply for me, but they also sought the Lord for themselves and each other in a way I had not experienced before with this group. It was not the plan, it was powerful.

A part of effectiveness is in planning and preparation, but that alone won’t make us successful. Success comes by being faithful to the one who produces lasting fruit. In the same way individuals may plan and faithfully trust the outcomes to God, may also our government be full of humble people who trust the outcomes of their planning to the Living God. Through faithfulness God will act and transform people; and transformation is what is truly effective because it is eternal.

REFLECTION1. Who, in our city, is making plans and exerting effort to make it a better place? Let’s lift them in prayer.

2. Is there a place we have been building, and planning and preparing for which we have not submitted to God?

3. How can we encourage those things we have collectively invested in, namely government efforts, to be effetive and fruitful? What areas need healing ( James 5:6)?

Raoul PerezNorth City (Seattle), WA.

MAY 30EXCELLENCE IN YOUR WORKExodus 35:30-36, Colossians 3:23

Each summer my wife and I take our grandkids to what we call, “Cousins’ Camp.” It is an extended weekend away with no parents (or parent’s rules) that is designed to be the best weekend of their year. We play, stay up late, swim, cook special things over the campfire, and have a specific curriculum. Last year’s theme was “God the Father made us.”

I am not sure how much the grandkids got out of it, but since last summer I have been worshipping Jesus more through His creation! I have marveled at the hummingbird and the process of metamorphosis. One of the reasons God is so worthy of our worship is because of His stunning work in creation. Part of reflecting His image to those around us is letting the level of our work reflect the level of His work.

God loves beauty and artistry. One of the ways we as His Church can bless our cities is to work hard using our skills to bring beauty to it. God loves when we put His beauty and artwork on display.

REFLECTION1. Are you, personally, using your Spirit-selected gifts to bring beauty to your city? Pray He would show you how to do this more and better.

2. Are there believers in other congregations with whom you could team to bring more beauty to your city through artistic expression? Pray that groups of believers with common desires would meet and express God’s beauty.

3. Is there a way the Church in your city can encourage an individual or group who is working hard at making beauty in your city? Pray that God would let the Church be a great encouragement to such artists.

Dennis FuquaVancouver, WA.

MAY 31MUSICPsalm 33:3, Psalm 150:6

I grew up in a small church in the suburbs of Seattle and as an elementary student can vividly remember two men in our church who impacted me with their sacrifice of praise during our worship services. The first was named John. John was a middle-aged worshiper who had no talent or voice for singing and yet would lift his voice enthusiastically, completely missing the tune and often singing louder than others around him. As bratty kids we often would laugh and make fun. Only much later in life did I look back and realize what was truly happening. He knew he was a part of the kingdom of God and had no choice but to give himself freely in praise.

The other was a dear man named Jim who had severe cerebral palsy. His speech was almost unintelligible, yet when I listened carefully I could hear him singing the words to the hymns during our worship services. I think back at my apathy in worship and I feel ashamed that I was waiting to be moved or inspired to sing. He too knew he had a place in the kingdom of God, and he gave all he had to the act of worship.

As we gather to worship we must remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is working in all those around us. We should open ourselves to be led by them as we experience our great God and, in so doing, may we also lead others with humble enthusiasm. If we allow ourselves to become open to the voice of the Holy Spirit in this way, how can we keep from singing?

REFLECTION1. How can you open yourself to see worship happening around you, in those who seem to be least likely able to do it?

2. What are ways to break down the barriers that keeps us from seeing others as worship leaders?

3. How can we come along side of those who need to experience God’s love and mercy in worship?

Ron HaightQueen Anne (Seattle), WA.

JUNE 1TRUTH & INTEGRITY IN THE MEDIAJames 5:16

Several years ago, my wife invited me to join her in praying for the editor of our local newspaper and his family. He was a brilliant man, somewhat religious, and had become a friend of mine. I jumped at the offer, and we began to pray every night before going to bed for this family. We prayed that they would seek Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives.

During the course of that year, we noticed that in his editorials he began to make reference to God and to Scripture, sometimes quoting the words of the Lord Jesus.

One day I did an interview with Frank Peretti for the TV station where I work. I invited Frank, his wife and my editor friend to lunch after the interview. It seemed like a great opportunity for God to work in a live situation. After Frank left, the three of us sat together chatting. At one point, our editor friend leaned forward and said to my wife and me, “I have never shared this before, but I wanted you to know that for the last year, I have been thinking about Jesus Christ almost non-stop. I don’t know why – it has never happened before.”

That day marked one year since we had begun to pray for him and his family. We were both a little teary.

REFLECTION1. Has God put anyone in the media on your heart for whom to pray? If not, ask him.

2. Since your prayer are effective, pray for the change you want to see in our local media.

3. What’s God’s heart for Church’s involvement in media in your city?

Brad GillAberdeen, WA.

JUNE 2BEAUTY & PURITYPhilippians 4:8-9

In a world constantly in conflict it is hard to believe that peace is possible or that right will out. But there are signs of beauty and purity all around us that can help us believe those things.

On Sportsman Club Road on Bainbridge Island there is such a sign. Two beautiful schools stand side-by-side: Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School and Walt Woodward Middle School. They honor men of excellence, who are, in Paul’s words, “worthy of praise.” During the dark time after Pearl Harbor, Bainbridge Islanders, American citizens, were taken from their homes and sent to far away camps just because of their ancestry was Japanese American. Sonoji Sakai, a prosperous farmer, and his family were among those imprisoned.

Walt Woodward was the editor of the local paper, The Bainbridge Review, and he was a lone editorial voice on the West Coast protesting their internment as wrong and unconstitutional. Eventually Walt was proven right and in 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed a government apology to those Americans whose constitutional rights had been violated. Sonoji Sakai returned to Bainbridge after the war, rebuilt his life, and donated land at a nominal cost to the Bainbridge Island School District for the building of a new school.

Even history can be redeemed and what is pure and lovely in God and others can be seen.

REFLECTION1. Where are the signs of beauty and purity in your city? Pray for them.

2 Who in your town deserves praise today? Pray prayers of thanksgiving for them.

3. What’s God’s heart for how the beautiful and pure things in your city are to be honored? What’s God saying about what the Church can do to honor those things/people?

Kent ChadwickBainbridge Island, WA.

JUNE 3USING YOUR GIFTINGS FOR GOD’S GLORYEsther 4, Romans 10:13-15

The year was 1876, and the event was the U.S. Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia, PA. This was the first official World’s Fair held in the U.S., and it ran from May 10th to November 10th as a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Among the exhibitors was Alexander Bell who was demonstrating his invention: the telephone. Emile Berliner was inspired by Bell’s invention and wanted to find ways to improve the newly invented telephone. Later, Mr. Bell was so impressed with what Mr. Berliner came up with that Mr. Bell purchased the patent from him for $50,000! His invention? The Microphone!

Imagine Media/Arts without a microphone! You could have all the sets, instruments, lighting, cameras etc. – but without a microphone your message is mute. This device can bring life, hope, laughter, sorrow, anger and even war – based solely on the content of the message.

If you are participating in Media/Arts you may see your position just as Esther came to see her’s; that you are there “…for such a time as this.” Her position as Queen was her “microphone” by which she spoke to the King, at great personal risk, and saved a generation!

A line from a C.T. Studd poem; “Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Many use their microphone to gain a following. What if instead you used your microphone to guide others to follow Christ? Your reverberations in those people’s live may just last for eternity.

REFLECTION1. What kind of “microphone does your congregation have in your community? Are you using them? Pray it is being effective for the Kingdom of God.

2. What are you doing to develop creative means to communicate the Gospel to the people who may not attend your church, but are connected to those who do?

3. What’s God’s heart for how the Church in your city can ban together to use your collective gifts for God’ glory?

Tim WhiteDeer Park, WA.

JUNE 4CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCHEphesians 1:21-23

Who hasn’t been frustrated with bureaucracy when trying to get something done? We want access to the decision-maker and we want results. This passage leads us directly to the One with all power who Himself is the Supreme Ruler – Jesus. In prayer we are moved immediately into the presence of the One who loves and wants best for our city. He is all wise knowing what needs to happen here – He has the best strategy for meeting needs and healing brokenness and rescuing the lost. This passage points us to the bedrock truth that He not only wants what is best, He alone has the authority to do it.

The passage ends with Jesus filling “all things everywhere with himself.” Remembering that Jesus is the Head of the Body, the Church – the Church being a movement of people united with Jesus by grace – what then does this mean? Jesus is filling all things everywhere with His people. This means families, schools, vocations and social scenes of all kinds, and the government are being flooded with Christ because you are Christ in the world.

REFLECTION1. What does it mean to pray with confidence to the One with all authority?

2. What signs of Jesus filling our city with His Body can we praise God for?

3. What parts/aspects of our city are in need of filling with His Body and beg for special prayer today?

Luke CrookWest Seattle, WA.

JUNE 5THE BODY IS GIFTED1 Corinthians, 12:12-17, Ephesians 4:11-16

Every believer is a part of the body of Christ. Every part of the body has a place and function. When parts are missing or not fully functioning, we are incomplete.

For years as a pastor, I talked about how the body of Christ was to function but the reality of it eluded me. Once I accepted myself as one part of the body of Christ it became real to me where I fit. I also immediately saw my need for the other parts of the body. Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.” And, without the rest of Christ’s body, we can do nothing.

As the body of Christ we are all given gifts and diverse functions for the benefit of the body. Diversity is an important part of the body because, “if the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing?” Every diverse part is necessary so that there may be Christ-like unity in the body.

Ephesians describes a reality where the diverse gifts we have been given as the body were given for the whole body to be unified so that all may reach the knowledge of God’s Son. Our unity as the body of Christ and the various gifts we display are all at the service of the Father in making his Son Jesus known to others. Unity is the goal of our gifts and the fruit we share with others in the knowledge of God’s Son Jesus.

REFLECTION1. Pray for the Lord to help you further understand and develop your part in the Body?

2. Pray to understand how you can encourage other parts of the Body who are different than you.

3. What part of the body does your congregation play in the Church of your city? How can your congregation step more fully into that identity?

Duane SabinNorth Kitsap County, WA.

JUNE 6SERVINGJames 2:14-17, Matthew 25:37-40

When we take a step out and serve others in our community we learn what God’s heart is for our city and how we can participate with him to bring his heart to bear in the places we live. Scripture guides us in how to humbly serve with God.

James impresses upon us the need to manifest in action the love and faith we proclaim. Our words are empty if we don’t come alongside to ease the burden of those who suffer. By serving our brothers and sisters in need, our faith comes to life, takes shape, and breathes God’s breath into people/places which are ruled by despair and death.

God sees our actions towards each other as if they were done to him. Why? Because we are to understand his deep love for those on the margins whom God regards as precious. Compassion is what God desires from us. We are to sit with Jesus when we meet him in the dark places, to get to know him, and to understand these relationships are mutually transforming. This is paramount to solving problems and fixing issues.

Take a moment now to reflect on this poem that is attributed to Teresa of Avila as it gives the central reason for our participation with God’s work in our city:

Christ has no body but yours,No hands, no feet on earth but yours,Yours are the eyes with which he looksCompassion on this world,Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

REFLECTION1. In what ways cannot our church serve our city so that people are able to see Jesus?

2. What do we need to do in order to humble ourselves so that we are able to see Jesus in those we seek to serve?

3. Are we, individually and corporately, seeking opportunities to participate more effectively with God’s work in our city?

Jan Gasper and Josh McQueen Redmond, WA.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,Yours are the eyes, you are his body.Christ has no body now but yours,No hands, no feet on earth but yours,Yours are the eyes with which he looksCompassion on this world.Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

JUNE 7BEING SALT & LIGHT IN OUR CITIESMatthew 5:13-17

This passage always reminds me of a book I read by Rebecca Manley Pippert, “Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World”. The Lord’s clear message to his followers is that our lives are to make a difference in the world by being Salt and Light.

Salt cannot do what it is created to do (bring forth flavor and preserve) if it is just stored up and piled high. Likewise, we must not be a people encapsulated and isolated by ourselves. We need to permeate and penetrate the communities around us with the life enhancing and preserving character of the Kingdom of Jesus.

Similarly, a light that shines to dispel the darkness must not be covered, but rather be set on high for all to see. Throughout these days of prayer leading up to Pentecost, let us continually be on the lookout for ways to shine the light of the love of Jesus to those around us. Let us be intentional about moving out of our comfort zones to make a difference in this world, for the Kingdom of Jesus Messiah, by the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father!

REFLECTION1. Pray for people in your city to desire the Gospel message like they do salt and light.

2. In what ways do we as the people of God and as individuals isolate ourselves from our cities and communties?

3. How can we be salt and light together as God’s people in our cities? How can we permeate and penetrate the cities with the Gospel of Jesus?

Paul JonesGig Harbor, WA.

JUNE 8UNITYColossians 3:11-12, Ephesians 4:3, Psalm 133:1-3

God designed the Church to be unified in its diversity. Sometimes it is hard to see that because we look with natural eyes. We must see the Church as God sees it.

Colossians 3:11-12 says, “Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe, custom-made by the Creator, with His label on it…the old fashions are obsolete..from now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ” (The Message).  The scriptures are the lens through which we are able to see as God sees.  Does this mean we become color blind, unilingual, genderless ageless, etc?  No, of course not! But, it does mean is we are now defined by Christ first.  If we stay with the “wardrobe” theme, this new life of love, we should wear the new outfits of compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength and discipline.  We should be quick as well as eager to forgive just as Christ has forgiven us.

When we are led by the Holy Spirit we have peace with one another.  Ephesians 4:3 tells us to “make every attempt to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (NIV). Psalm 133:1-3 further says it is pleasant for God’s people to live together in unity because the Lord bestows blessings on those who do.  One of the greatest blessings of unity is harmony with one another.  Musically, harmony is the result of several voices singing the same song but different notes that sound pleasing to the ear. 

What a witness it will be for the broad Northwest community when we as followers of Jesus are seen worshipping and working together resulting in the birth of future believers who are drawn together in harmony, peace and unity.

REFLECTION1. As you take a look at your own body of believers through the lens of scripture, what do you perceive as barrers that could hinder unity?

2. What role will you play in spanning the “peace and harmony” gaps?

3. What’s God’s heart for unity in Seattle, in the Northwest? How does God desire us to show we are a unified Church?

Allen A. Belton,Seattle, WA.

WHAT’S GOD’S HEART FOR YOUR CITY?