For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:6-7)

If you were to die today, what is your exit status?

Wow! Wow! Wow! If I took the time to share a fraction of all that God is doing, I’d be writing for a week.

The “One Month To Live” series that Matt Gregory just led the congregation at Soul Purpose Church through has had a profound impact on me.

As I mentioned in my April 20 devotional, one of the three assignments on Day 1 was this, “Without thinking too hard or too long, make a list of five things you’d change about your life if you knew you only had a month to live. Choose at least one to begin changing today, right now.”

Well I wrote down my list of 5 things to do if I had only one month to live. And that brought laser focus and very purposeful action. I’ve been able to say “no” to lots of things I shouldn’t be doing. I’m well on my way to accomplishing all 5 of those things. Amazing. God has really honored this commitment with major breakthroughs.

Yesterday, Matt concluded this 5 week sermon series with a message titled “Leave Boldly!” He addressed 3 questions:

1) What will be the center of my life?
2) What will be the character of my life?
3) What will be the contribution of your life?

What is your exit status?

1) I’m ready to leave boldly. I know Jesus and have made a valuable contribution with the life He has given me.

2) I’m ready to leave, but not boldly. I know Jesus, but I have unfinished business.

3) I’m not certain of my status. I’m not sure I know Jesus or have completed what He wanted me to do with my life.

4) I am not ready. I do not know Jesus nor have I completed His purpose for my life.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for Pastor Matt Gregory and leading him to lead our congregation through the One Month To Live series. Thank You for the profound impact this is having on me. Speak life, lots of life, into my readers to live their lives as if they have only one month to live. Thank You Jesus. Amen and Hallelujah!

Blessings to prepare yourself to leave boldly!

Blessings of the Day
1) Experiencing God Through Journaling – Week 8, free webinar at 8 pm EDT today with guest panelist Rev. Chad Whaley sharing his God stories. Chad has been the catalyst behind a community-wide homeless ministry that is now serving as a model to other communities in Virginia.

2) “Can You Really Make $5000 A Month Or More Without Having A Website Or A List?” – Announcing: A Webinar That Will Teach You Exactly How To Do This, Using Proven Techniques For Affiliate Marketing That Connie Regan Green Has Been Using Since 2006.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; (1 Corinthians 1:27)

How am I doing in the major areas of my LIFE, MARRIAGE, FAMILY, WORK and CHURCH?

On December 28, 2007 I received this seemingly crazy instruction from the Holy Spirit, “Start 2008 by listening to all of The Bible Experience (entire Bible) in one month.” I say “crazy” because I already had my own plans on how to start 2008 off well and my plans didn’t leave room to read and listen to the Bible for 3 or more hours daily.

On the first day of this new year, I attempted to listen to all 50 chapters of the book of Genesis using The Bible Experience CD set while reading along in my Maxwell Leadership Bible. In the evening, while half-way through this gargantuan task, my wife came running into my office thrilled to tell and show me something. While cleaning our basement, she found a blank leather-bound journal from Wisdom Hunters and now wants to start journaling.

That was such an unexpected blessing. But the blessing didn’t stop there. Inside the Wisdom Hunters journal, I found a Wisdom Hunters business card from Richard Shupert. I remembered meeting Richard just one time in August 2006 at the Founder’s Inn in Virginia Beach during the International Coalition of Workplace Ministries conference. The business card prompted me to check out the Wisdom Hunters website. There I found a link to a blog with some of the best questions I have ever seen for an “annual life audit.” See today’s Link of the Day for those questions.

Here is how John & Debbie Woodall begin their outstanding article titled “Reflection and Preparation:”

The habit or practice of reflection has increased and become very important to me over time. I have noticed people are running so fast and not taking the time to sit, think, review, remember and readjust their lifestyles and schedules. With some regular times of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reflection, it can lead to peace, stability and very purposeful living.

The following questions are to get us thinking about this past year and prepare us for “The Best Year Ever.” How am I doing in the major areas of my LIFE, MARRIAGE, FAMILY, WORK and CHURCH?

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I praise You as the God who works in very mysterious ways. I acknowledge that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways higher than my ways, and Your thoughts than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). I gladly submit to Your authority and ask You to use me as one of Your vessels to put to shame the wisdom of this world. In Jesus name, I pray and give You glory, now and forever. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Reflection and Preparation by John & Debbie Woodall – “annual life audit” – choose category = Life lessons

Blessings to have your best year ever by completing this annual life audit!

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. (Proverbs 23:24)

How can I help teens build positive, godly relationships that can withstand the negative peer pressure so prevalent in today’s youth culture?

One of the many benefits of participating in the Lifeforming Leadership Coaching courses is getting connected to a network of leaders who are growing a lot.

In August 2007, Jerry Graham referred me to Kyle Unruh, the President of K-Life. I subsequently had three phone conversations and online meetings with Kyle. He balances a big job with a big family (6 kids). Kyle thinks outside of the box and aims high, not fearing if he fails to reach certain high goals.

Before Jerry’s referral, I didn’t know anything about K-Life because they don’t have an active presence in Virginia. However, after learning about this organization, I began praying that K-Life would soon spread to every state in America, including Virginia.

Have you ever observed something in your child that bothers you but you can’t identify what it is? When that happens, don’t ignore your God-given instincts. Ask God to reveal what it is you’re sensing. We are aligned with the Creator of the universe, who understands perfectly what is going on, and we need to ask Him for wisdom and revelation. [paragraph from Chapter 28 of The Power of Praying Parent]

If you have teenagers or have raised teenagers in recent years, you probably have an appreciation for the prevalence of negative peer pressure among young people today and the severe danger it represents.

K-Life is a youth ministry focused on mentoring and discipling today’s teenagers. Working on a community-wide scale, K-Life networks kids from different churches (and those without a church affiliation) to build positive, godly relationships that can withstand the negative peer pressure so prevalent in today’s youth culture.

As Proverbs 2:10-12 states, “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.”

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for Kyle Unruh and K-Life. Bless Kyle and his family. Bless K-Life in the next 12 months to have its most successful year ever for Your Kingdom’s sake. Bless K-Life with great favor and godly strategies to rapidly spread to all 50 states in America. May K-Life soon have a presence in Culpeper. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
K-Life [www.klife.com]

Blessings to see youth in your community choose godly mentors and peers!
 

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. (Acts 4:31-35)

What is my attitude toward work and wealth?
What can I do this week to begin alleviating systemic poverty in my community? Around the world?

Today is Labor Day, a federal holiday in the U.S. that takes place on the first Monday in September. The holiday began in 1882, originating from a desire by the Central Labor Union to create a day off for the “working man”. It is still celebrated mainly as a day of rest and marks the symbolic end of summer for many.

In the United States, most of us are spoiled and take what we have for granted. In general, most Americans have little sense of urgency to relieve suffering in their own communities and around the world. So on this Labor Day, let’s take a look at wealth and income.

The word “wealth” is often confused with “income”. These are two different terms describing two different but related things. Wealth is the items of economic value that an individual owns. Income is an inflow of items of economic value. The reason wealth needs to be differentiated from income is because an individual also has expenses, which is an outflow of items of economic value. The relation between wealth, income, and expenses is as follows: change of wealth = income – expenses. It can also be expressed as: wealth = assets – liabilities.

More than half of the world’s population lives on less than $2/day. Milanovic found that the richest 25% of the world’s population receives 75% of the world’s income. A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. The bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth.

The United States is the richest country in the world per capita. 25% of the world’s wealth is in America, while less than 5% of the 6.6 billion people in the world live here. Percentage wise, 61%  of the world’s population lives in Asia, 13% in Africa, 12% in Europe, 9% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 5% in North America, and 0.5% in Oceania. China and India, the only two countries to have a population greater than one billion, together possess more than a third of the world’s population.

For me, the purpose of having more is to have more to give.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for our abundant wealth and opportunities in America. Thank You that I have never gone even one day of my life without Your provision. Thank You for the gift of Jesus in my heart, the greatest gift anyone can ever receive. When I die, may people say “He gave his all, that all might know You.” Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
World population – from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population]
Distribution of wealth – from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_of_wealth]

Blessings to make a great life by giving greatly!
 

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent.” (Revelations 3:3)

What can I do TODAY to prevent fires, rather than rushing around to put them out?

A recent letter I received from the Pentagon Federal Credit Union states, “No one ever plans to fail, but many fail to plan.” Because I have a heart to serve, I easily fall into the trap of allowing other people’s “emergencies” to pull me into the tyranny of the urgent. But it’s my desire to live most of my life in Quadrant 2, doing things that are important, but not urgent.

On Sunday August 26, I got up at 5:10 AM after 6 ½ hours of sleep. I went to our sunroom, knelt down, and prayed for a few minutes. I think I also sang a few songs to God, but I’m not sure because I was busy the evening before. Because of my recent devotionals about QBQ, I asked God the question, “What can I do TODAY to increase my finances?” It didn’t take Him long to go to work.

When I went to my office, I started iTunes intending to listen to a scheduled playlist for the 26th day of the month. However, I discovered I needed to create new playlists because last week I  upgraded my hard drive and operating system on my main computer. During the process of creating playlists, the Holy Spirit prompted me to load Psalms 74-150 into iTunes. While retrieving my NIV Bible on CD in our basement, I noticed the 2 CD set “Too Busy Not to Pray.” I was prompted to load those too into iTunes.

While listening to CD #2 of “Too Busy Not to Pray,” Track #11 jumped out at me. Bill Hybels talked about decreasing your RPM’s from 10,000 to 5,000 to 500 each morning. I felt strongly convicted and was driven to action. I listened to that track at least two more times that morning.

The next morning (August 27), I decided to apply the three principles (steps) of slowing down discussed on Track #11. My first step was to write (type) one full page in my spiritual journal starting with the word “Yesterday.” As I recounted the events and people from the day before, I became more and more aware of how God was at work in that day. My second step was to write (type) one page of personal prayers.

To see what I wrote in my spiritual journal on the morning of August 27, visit today’s Link of the Day.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, on December 29, 2006 You told me my theme verse in 2007 was to be”Be Still” (Psalm 46:10).  While preparing my devotional for January 1, 2007, You told me that was Your message for the entire world in 2007. Guide me to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from my life. Do likewise for my readers. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Yesterday… – my journal entry for August 27  [see below]

Blessings to learn and apply simple principles to slow down your RPM’s from 10,000 to 500!

I then chose to sit next to John, a teenager whose life is being turned around by God. Because John respects me, I knew it would encourage him by being with him. I was encouraged to hear John singing. Within a matter of 5-10 minutes, the crowd grew to at least 60-70 people in the high school auditorium. I noticed an extremely high and positive energy level. Julia (my wife) arrived around 10:40 AM and sat on my left. She had run a 10 mile race earlier that morning in Bealeton.

Pastor Matt Gregory began his sermon by sharing that 90% of people who come to church do so because a family member or friend invites them. He then called forward all the people who were present at the very first SPC worship service in March 2005. Then he called forward people who had come to SPC because of being invited by someone already up front. (i.e. the second generation). Next he called forward third generation SPC attendees. By this time, almost no one remained in the audience. One could easily sense an atmosphere of fellowship and a breakdown in tension by having people get out of their seats. Then more humored followed. By this time, people had let down their barriers and were ready to hear from God. The title of Matt’s message was  “Borrowing and Lending Faith.” I think I’ll do a devotional about that later this week.

After the worship service, I immediately went to talk to Bud. The Holy Spirit had instructed me earlier that morning to give him a brochure inviting him to the 17th Annual International Institute on Nation Transformation in Argentina Sept 28 – Oct 5. I also gave Bud a Harvest Evangelism DVD titled “Marketplace Transformation.” Bud seemed quite interested in going to Argentina and told me he has a good pastor friend who might be up for that too.

Before leaving SPC, I talked to several other people and helped load carts into the SPC trailer. When Julia invited me to have lunch at China Jade in Culpeper with a few other families, I accepted the invitation, even though I had initially thought I’d skip lunch.

When Julia and I arrived at China Jade, we saw the Jarvis family and went to talk to them. Then we joined the Smith and Gregory families to eat. The conversations were authentic. I did a better job than usual listening.

When I got home, I immediately laid down for what turned out to be a 3 hour nap. I was exhausted.

——————-

Morning prayer page for Monday 08-27-07

LORD, yesterday morning I asked You the question, “What can I do TODAY to increase my finances?” It didn’t take you long to go to work. You led me back to the CD set “Too Busy Not to Pray” and then You imprinted the message from Track #11 of CD#2 on my heart. Thank You for doing that. Thank You that I had time to listen to that message several more times. Thank You that this morning I am applying the 3 principles to slow down my RPM’s from 10,000 to 500.

I’ve had a ton of excuses why I’ve let me prayer life slip. I’ve had a ton of excuses for why I’ve allowed people to get me in the fast lane that leads to nowhere. I’ve had a ton of excuses on why some words (prophecies) You’ve spoken to me haven’t come true. My own busyness has hurt my relationship with Caren, Robbie, and Julia. It has damaged their faith. Please forgive me. I know I need to assume personal responsibility for what is being manifested in my life and family. I need to stop blaming others, especially Julia, for holding me back. I need to be a man of action as well as prayer. I need to be an answer to my own prayers much more often. I need to be a good steward with my time. I spend too long talking to people on the phone. This wastes my time and their time. I haven’t been preparing adequately for my meetings with my clients.

This past Friday (August 24), I vented my anger to Julia in front of John and then Caren.

I’ve been asking You over and over to bless my finances and yet things just seem to get worse and worse. I’ve been telling You what I want to see happen instead of asking You what I need to do to be successful. I’ve allowed journaling and emails to draw me into the tyranny of the urgent.

Thank You LORD for yesterday!

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men. (Proverbs 22:29)

When you are working or doing something, do you do it with excellence as if working for Jesus?

When I think about Virginia Morton, two scriptures come to mind – the one above about doing things with excellence and James 1:22 about being doers, not just hearers, of the Word. In my opinion, Virginia has done more in the past two years to bring unity to the Culpeper community than anyone.

I first met Virginia around 2002 at the Culpeper United Methodist Church when my daughter received the bronze Congressional Award. Many local high school students were presented their awards by Congressman Eric Cantor, Culpeper’s representative for the U.S. House of Representatives.

That year marked the 10th anniversary of the Congressional Award [www.congressionalaward.org] program in Culpeper. Because of that and because Culpeper had more Congressional Award recipients than any other community in America, Cantor came to Culpeper to present the awards. In all previous years, the recipients had to go to Washington D.C. to receive their rewards. Virginia played a key role in the success of our local program.

Virginia also was responsible for the Academic Spotlight – weekly articles that appeared in our local newspaper highlighting students who excelled in school and with community involvement.

In February 2005, I ran into Virginia at our local Food Lion store. Even though we barely knew each other, we started talking while waiting in the check out line. I was so moved by what she had to say about her “Marching Through Culpeper” book  that I asked her to share her story on the local Christian TV show I had started. A few weeks later, I interviewed Virginia. She told the miraculous story of how God had her write this book and got it published. Virginia later told me that this was the first time she had ever shared her faith in a public interview.

By sharing her faith publically, Virginia began a process of explosive spiritual growth. She became a regular and active participant of Pray Culpeper in the summer of 2005. She got her pastor and several other church members involved.

Perhaps more than anything, what has positively impacted our community are the weekly prayer-focus articles that Virginia initiated in July 2006. Each week, the Culpeper News is mailed to every home in Culpeper. A different community leader is featured each week, giving our community the opportunity to pray for his or her specific prayer needs and requests.

These prayer articles recently opened the door for an upcoming prayer walk of Pearl Sample Elementary School on December 17. More will be shared about that tomorrow. You will hear more about “Marching Through Culpeper” another day. Keep tuned!

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for Virginia Morton and the positive impact she has had on Culpeper. Thank You for her humility, prayer life, and passion for You. Thank You that she does things with excellence and puts feet to her prayers and the prayers of others. Bless Virginia and her family indeed! Thank You for blessing the weekly prayer focus articles in our community. Please multiply those in other communities in Virginia and across America. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Archive of Culpeper’s weekly prayer focus articles [www.alifeofblessing.org/content.cfm?id=2164]

Blessings to do everything with excellence!

“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.” (Deuteronomy 28:3)

Are you blessed in the city and in the country?
If not, are you diligently obeying the voice of the LORD?

In late September 2005 I prayed for Geraldine Shaver when she was a patient of mine at Giles Memorial Hospital. That opened a conversation about God. Geraldine told me she wanted to stay in touch somehow. It just so happened that I had been praying to be able to start a new LIFE group in Giles for “40 Days of Purpose.” Soul Purpose Church, the church I attend, was officially launching this 40 day journey on October 8, 2005. SPC is located four hours from Giles by car.

When the plans I made for the new LIFE group in Giles fell through, Geraldine came through by hosting the seven week course at her home. She invited her friends. As I was driving to Geraldine’s home on October 10 for our very first meeting, I prayed something about the number “7.” It turned out we had seven people participate in the LIFE group on the first day – all strangers to me.

No one in our group had heard of Rick Warren or The Purpose Driven Life book. They were all hungry to learn and grow. Each week Geraldine prepared wonderful meals for me and the other guests. We had wonderful times of fellowship, discipleship, and worship. We saw many answers to prayers.

Over the past year, Geraldine has served as God’s scout for me in Giles. She has blessed me with books, CD’s, and other materials. One of those books shared testimonies of how various Jewish people came to accept Jesus as their Messiah. Geraldine recently connected me with Steve Rawls, the new Young Life leader in Giles that I talked about in my last devotional.

On November 28, 2006, Geraldine connected me with Bonita, the lady who teaches on the Bible Bus in Giles. I learned Bonita teaches approximately 230 4th and 6th graders from public schools about the Bible each week during the school year. This year the Holy Spirit told Bonita to teach about heaven in the first semester (Fall 2006) instead of the second as she has always done before. So far this semester, about 160 of her students made decisions to invite Jesus into their heart. Bonita said nothing like that had ever happened before.

On December 7, Geraldine stopped in at Giles Hospital to give me a 3 CD set called “Sing, O Zion” – 36 Messianic songs of praise and worship. I listened to those songs driving home later that day and this past weekend. As I did so, my spirit jumped for joy and I received new revelations. I realize I’ve been missing a lot by not listening to Messianic songs. Geraldine has helped me appreciate the richness of the Jewish culture.

Prayer Power
Father, I praise You as the Master Planner. Thank You for connecting me with Geraldine and her friends. Bless them with the desires of their hearts. Thank You for what You are doing in Giles County. Light a fire for Jesus that can never be extinguished. Bless Giles County to be a light for the world to exalt Your holy name. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools [http://www.bibleinschools.net]

Blessings in the city and in the country!

“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 28:2)

Is the Holy Spirit asking you to do something that is contrary to the wisdom of the world?

As I already mentioned yesterday, we held the very first “Healthy Virginia” meeting in Culpeper on Monday December 4. Our vision is to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation by December 2007. Holding this meeting required uncommon obedience on the parts of several people and resulted in a series of miracles each day following.

On December 5, I met Steve Rawls for dinner at Kalbees in Pembroke Virginia, located ten minutes by car from Pearisburg where I work and have my apartment in Giles County.

Steve Rawls is the new full-time Young Life leader in Giles County where I’ve been working part-time for the past three years. He is 22 years old, graduated from Virginia Tech in May, worked for 13 weeks during the summer as the video intern for Young Life at Rockbridge (near Lexington Virginia), and then began working in Giles County for Young Life in September.

On October 22, Steve Rawls first popped up on my radar screen when I received an email from Geraldine Shaver telling me that she had just met Steve that day. She said “I recognize the same hunger in him for souls that I saw in you … I am asking you to pray about meeting him.” God has taught me to listen to Geraldine because she loves Jesus dearly and walks and prays in the Spirit. She is a connector and God uses her as a scout for me.

While driving to the restaurant, I ask God to show me some need I could meet for Steve to bless him. During our conversation, I learned Steve was living in a very small apartment in Pembroke with a leaky roof. He was hoping to find an apartment in Pearisburg, where 100% of his Young Life students are. BINGO! The lights went on.

I told Steve about my great apartment in Pearisburg that I was vacating in two weeks. It is large, clean, and the rent is cheap. The apartment is located at the very top of a hill and has a gorgeous view overlooking the town of Pearisburg and with a great view of the sun rising over the mountains in the morning.

After dinner, Steve came over to my apartment to take a look at it. He loved it. Steve told me it was four times larger than his current apartment and the rent was just a little more. I called the owner, told him about Steve, and asked him not to put an ad in the newspaper to rent it. Steve called the owner back later that night committing to lease it.

One of my fervent prayers has been to leave a legacy in Giles when I stop working there in late December. I never even considered that my apartment could be part of that. My apartment that I have been anointing for the past two years with the Word of God and songs to the Almighty will now be used as the home for the Young Life leader. Young Life students will be coming there to learn more about God and praise Him. To top it off, Steve is a friend of Jeff Stables, who is the wonderful Young Life leader we have in Culpeper.

Prayer Power
Father I praise You as the great Connector! Thank You for connecting me with Steve Rawls. Thank You for Geraldine’s obedience to make this connection possible. Thank You for continuing to use my apartment for Your purposes. Bless Steve with uncommon favor. Grant him the desires of his heart. Bless the socks off of the Young Life students in Giles County. Bless those who receive this message with a desire for uncommon obedience. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Young Life [www.younglife.org]

Blessings of uncommon obedience!
Your Daily Blessing News
Tomorrow I will share the miracle of how I got to know Geraldine Shaver.
 

 ”that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21)

Shortly before going to the cross, Jesus prayed for unity (John 17:21). Unity glorifies God, while disunity pushes people away from God.

My heart’s desire is to see cities and nations transformed by the power of God. For that to happen we must first see marriages transformed. Then and only then will we see the marketplace transformed. This requires a paradigm shift with husbands and wives both having their eyes of understanding opened to their true biblical roles in marriage.

Many Christian men demand submission from their wives, while frequently ignoring the opinions and counsel of their wives. Yet Ephesians 5:21 states that husbands and wives are to submit to one another in the fear of God. As Jack Serra explains so well, the primary role of a wife is not submission, but rather helpmate = revealer of the enemy. Since hearing and applying the messages from the Marketplace and Marriage curriculum [http://themmconnection.com/store.asp], I have seen my wife and my relationship to her blossom.

When husbands and wives fail to fulfill their proper roles, the result is loss of intimacy. On August 28, when I was at the “Workplace Ministry Leaders Roundtable,” Doug Small shared a horrifying statistic – that 40% of pastors are addicted to pornography. As founder of Project Pray, Doug should know because he speaks to pastors and church congregations around the world.

Are you desperate to see God transform your marriage, your workplace, and your city?
Do you need a coach for your marriage?
If so, send me an email so I can help you by directing you to an appropriate resource.

Prayer Power
Most gracious heavenly Father, You teach “the fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). My heart is broken as I witness the break up of many marriages and families and see so many dysfunctional marriages. As a physician, I see so many health problems resulting from high stress related to this. Kids are suffering. We desperately need Your help. I cry out to You for mercy and grace. Deliver pastors who are addicted to pornography. Multiply our marriage LIFE groups throughout Culpeper and then Virginia. Make Virginia a shining light for the world! Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Project Pray [www.projectpray.org] – a community transformation prayer initiative

Blessings for God to take you to a new level of intimacy in your family!

Your Daily Blessing News
Tomorrow we will look at how pastors and marketplace ministers must work together to reach their city for Jesus.

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24)

When I’m at work, I sometimes hear co-workers tell me they can’t wait till they leave because they are looking forward to a vacation the next day or week. I remind them that this is the day that the LORD has made so rejoice and be glad in it. I then ask them if they would have a different attitude if they knew Jesus was with them watching all that they did.

Knowing that your work is worship will change …
1) Who or what you are working for – Your first “work of worship” is believing in Jesus.
2) What kind of work you do
3) The quality of your work
4) The quantity of your work
5) Your primary job title (ambassador for Christ)

Are you willing to make these 3 commitments to be a marketplace minister?
1) I will pray for my co-workers and boss.
2) I will do my work with excellence to worship God.
3) I will openly and publically bring Jesus to work with me.

Prayer Power
Father, bless those who read this message to excel in their work and give glory to God wherever they are. Thank You for your promise that those who do will stand before kings (Proverbs 22:29). Bless each reader to have a ministry of paths – to be Jesus to whoever You put in their path. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Marketplace Leaders [www.marketplaceleaders.org]

Your Daily Blessing News
Much of the content today comes from a sermon preached by my pastor, Matt Gregory, at Soul Purpose Church on September 3, 2006.

Other sites of interest: Soul Purpose Church [www.soulpurposechurch.org]