The Centrality of Prayer in Your Art

In your endeavors to see the creative power of God unleashed through your life, remember two things about the centrality of prayer.

1. There is an inherent beauty when we bring our best effort backed by godly character to the table. Regardless of who sees your art or responds to your communication, God is pleased when you do everything as worship unto Him. This perspective comes only through prayer. Do not give prayer lip service, but pray. Watch what happens when you trust the leadership of the Holy Spirit in prayer and obedience.

2. The mission of God is to be OUR primary mission as well. Have a wonderful career, work hard, see results, build your network, but through it all, pray and ask God to teach you what it means to seek His kingdom and righteousness FIRST. For then, all these things will be added unto you as well (Matthew 6:33). You have a heavenly assignment that transcends time. Do not focus on your earthly portfolio to the neglect of your eternal portfolio.

The "Thankful List" Challenge

Sometime this week...

1. Sit down with some paper, a pen, and about twenty minutes of free time.
2. Get in a place where you can focus, without distraction, and put on some quiet music.
3. Write down ALL the things you are thankful for. Don't rush. Don't be afraid to stop and just think.
4. As you do, ask God for His perspective and allow your spirit to rise up in worship and thankfulness.
5. Don't take even one thing for granted!

This is life changing. Learn to see all your life through the grid of gratitude. As you do, you will also begin to commit all your days into God's hands, trusting that every good and perfect gift is from Him. And... what once were your greatest problems, may become your greatest opportunities. Opportunities to rethink, to grow, to seek God, to gain new perspective, to reframe, to refocus, and to understand what really matters.

True Heart of Generosity

I have been SO amazed by our church's heart of generosity! It reminds me a lot of the kind of church culture seen in the book of Acts.

The Report

1. Since the beginning, there have been various people giving anonymously to help others out just when they needed it. Awesome.
2. Now, in the past month, we have had our first two special offerings for missions projects on Sunday mornings. Both Sundays had about 50 people in attendance, and both offerings were well over $2,000.
3. Then, I just found out that last week at one of our small groups, four people stepped up to give $600 to pay for four low-income kids from another church to go to an awesome youth convention here in SoCal.
4. Lastly... this month, after all the extra giving, has still been the best financial month for Clarity since we started.

The Point

Now, this is not all about money... BUT, where your treasure is, there your heart is. An evidence that you are following Christ and truly care is always clearly seen in your spending choices.

And, all this has been done before we have even had enough money to pay for all our own operational expenses. But, the growth and culture of generosity has been undeniable. We are seeing the truth of the simple principle... you REAP what you SOW.

So, keep supporting this church as we grow into self sufficiency (meaning all expenses paid from in-house giving), and we will keep setting our culture up as one of generosity as we give whenever and however we can. I believe that in the future, this church community will give many millions of dollars to the work of God all over the world (from justice issues to evangelism to the ends of the earth).

The Thanks

Also, we will ALWAYS need a support network as we plant more churches in west LA and wherever God leads us. Thanks to all those in the Clarity community in LA that give the best of their time, talent, and treasure to see God’s Kingdom come here. AND, thanks to all those around the country that faithfully support us prayerfully and financially.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

S.O.A.P. Encouragement / Worship Music Links

Yesterday at the Clarity gathering we began our series on prayer. What would happen if we truly UNDERSTOOD, BELIEVED, and ENGAGED in what Jesus teaches us about prayer! It would be the beginning of a revolution of the world.

THE CHALLENGE

I challenged each person to spend time TODAY in prayer and listening to God through His Word by using the S.O.A.P. exercise. You can use your new Life Journal or just any piece of paper. Remember, you'll also need a STOP list to go along with this START list. You can never start something new without stopping something else. Maybe for today, no online browsing, no social media, skip a meal, no TV, no gaming, etc. Here is a recap on what to do...

S.O.A.P.

The S.O.A.P. Model is simply a tool we use for reading the bible, discovering what it is saying, and applying its teachings to our lives. Below is a breakdown of how it works:

S :: read the Scriptures given for the day (use your daily reading plan in your Life Journal, or, try Philippians 4:6-7 today).

O :: use a journal to write down any Observations that come to mind. Ask yourself questions like “Who is doing what and why?” “Where is this happening?” “What does this passage tell me about God?” “What does this passage tell me about me?” “How is the gospel on display in this passage?”

A :: list the Application to the verses—the ‘what you will do’ in response to this. Ask yourself questions like “How does this passage change how I see God, myself, and the world?” “What will I do in response to this?”

P :: spend time in Prayer with God in relation to what He has shown you. Try writing your prayers down on your Prayer List.

THE ENVIRONMENT

I also talked about creating an environment for your usual PLACE of PRAYER. It was said of Jesus that he had usual places of prayer, so we should too. It is good to have a place where you can focus without distractions. You may even want to have a piece of paper by you so you can write down anything that comes to mind that you need to do later, then you won't have to think about it at that moment and you can keep focusing on prayer.

WORSHIP

A HUGE part of prayer is worship; honoring God for who he is and thanking Him for all He has done. Music is a powerful tool to help us engage in worship. I said yesterday that I would post some links to great worship music to check out. Here are some links to Youtube videos so you can check them out for free, then decide if you want to buy...

Gungor
The Glorious Unseen
John Mark McMillan
Aaron Keyes
Trinity Grace Church
Vineyard
Jason Upton
Hillsong United
Israel Houghton (gospel flavor)
Matt Redman
Chris Tomlin
Keith Green (oldie but one of my favorites)

Enjoy!

A Revolution of the World - Prayer

John Foster writes, “If more or all of the disciples of Christianity were to pray, with an earnest and unalterable resolution, in order that heaven should not withhold anything that the most persistent prayer could obtain, it would be a sign that a revolution of the world was at hand.”

This month at Clarity is the Prayer Experiment. What would happen if we truly UNDERSTOOD and BELIEVED what the Scriptures taught us about prayer AND were fully engaged in participating in the highest calling of prayer? Let’s find out! We will seek the face of God, make our petitions known before Him with shameless audacity, ask with persistence, and believe that mountains will move. We will be a house of prayer when we gather as one and when we scatter into our personal lives throughout the week.

This focus in prayer will be coupled with a focus on studying the Word of God. Each person will receive a Life Journal and be taught the SOAP exercise of Bible study. There is NOTHING more important than learning to connect with God daily on your own!

Jesus is clear in John Chapter 15 that we can do nothing apart from God. He says that we can only be productive as we abide with Him and stay connected to the vine… for we are the branches, and we NEED the vine for sustenance and effectiveness. The way we stay connected is to spend time in His presence, talking with Him, and listening to Him through His Word and His voice.

My desire is to see our church explode with spiritual growth and health as we each learn to connect with God! This, and this alone, is the beginning of a revolution of the world.