Monday, September 13, 2010 40 Days of Prayer & Impact: 27 Days to Launch

Today, there are 27 DAYS before the Encounter Grand Opening on 10-10-10. We are asking you to join us in what God is doing and is going to do in these last 40 days.

Pray with us. Act with us. Imagine the impact we could have in Helena if each one of us is individually involved in making Helena a better place. Imagine the lives that could be touched. Imagine how the spiritual landscape of our community could be changed even BEFORE the grand opening.

Accomplish the Impossible Today

Today, we are looking at Matthew 19:26 ...

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."

What is it that changes the heart of a person? What will cause them to accept an invitation to church? Or more importantly an invitation to explore faith in Jesus? I don't know if you are like me, but I recently had a discussion with a friend about expected outcomes. Our conversation revolved around how we typically over-analyze situations expecting the worse possible outcome. This is the trap we eventually experience in our lives: we become de-motivated because we say that "it is impossible" to do great things.

And here is the truth — humanly speaking, it truly may be impossible. When we began this church planting journey for instance, we knew that it would be so beyond what we could accomplish by ourselves that we would completely and utterly fail ... UNLESS God was part of it.

Because with God everything is possible.

TODAY'S PRAYER

As we prepare this week for our Sneak Peek Worship Gathering on Sunday, there is a danger to become overwhelmed. There is a danger to say it is impossible. Volunteers, music, setup & tear down, rehearsals, message preparation, PowerPoint — it seems impossible that it would all come together in human terms. But in humanly impossible situations I've seen God come through time and time again, because with God everything is possible.

Our prayer today, then, is for the impossible that God would accomplish in our midst. We are praying for the preparation of this week's Sneak Peek Worship Gathering, we are praying for the Grand Opening on 10-10-10, we are praying for key volunteers. But most of all, we are praying for God to draw people to an encounter with Him that is life-changing. We are praying for hearts of people to be changed. We are praying for the spiritual landscape of Helena to be changed.

TODAY'S IMPACT

As we pray for hearts to be changed, let us work WITH God. Perhaps you have a neighbor that you have not connected with. Perhaps there have been "neighborly issues" between the two of you. Perhaps you know your neighbor well, but he or she has not been open to faith discussions.

Our impact today is to do something positive and simple for your neighbor. Help them experience the love of Jesus in a tangible way. Do something that has no strings attached where you expect nothing in return. Bring them a small gift such as a plant, a loaf of bread, or a candle. Or even more, so something like rake the leaves in their lawn. Through whatever it is, allow the Kingdom to come near to them today ... and then God will easily accomplish what is humanly impossible.