Posts Tagged reconciliation

Rise Spiritually: Days 24-26 of the Prayer Journey

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I am glad that you have joined those of us who seek to repent, to renew our minds and to grow in our prayer life to enable up to rise spiritually in the ways of Jesus Christ. You are encouraged to use a journal or notebook to write your reflections, what the Lord is speaking to you, your prayers and/or prayer requests.

During the Forty Day Prayer Journey it is suggested that you:
1. Fast at least one day per week preferably Wednesday. Alternatively, you can fast a food or activity the entire Lenten season. If you are ill or using medication please seek advice from your doctor.
2. Select a Prayer Partner or two (Triplett) to pray together at least once a week as you determine for your schedule.
3. Daily pray the intercessory daily prayer focus and prayer points for that date. Read the Bible and the scriptures.
4. Read the scriptures listed in the daily prayer focus. Answer the questions in your journal if there are any for that day and write down your reflections. Meditate on the Word each day.
5. Make an entry in your journal each day or as led by the Holy Spirit. Make sure you the complete the “Something to Act On” exercise section where it appears from time to time in the daily prayer focus.

DAY 24 – March 13 Seeking to Rise Spiritually by Walking Together In the Body
Scriptures: Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12; Eph. 4:7-16

Pray:
• Pray for every member of the body of Christ to discover his/her place and come into proper relationship with the other members within your church and in other congregations.
• Pray for each member to walk faithfully in God’s gifting and calling to build up others.
• Pray for each member within the body to accept, honor, and work together purposefully and in harmony with various parts of the body at Messiah or where God has joined us through the local congregation.
• Confess and ask God for forgiveness if you are guilty of withholding fellowship from those that are unlike you in personality, ethnic origin, or gifting within the body of Christ.
• Pray for those who have suffered calamity or crisis in their families. Pray that peace and unity bind affected families together in love.
• Pray for missionaries. Pray that God will provide favor, protection, resources and laborers.
• Pray that family members and friends will be a source of joy and blessing to each.
• Pray that Christ’s life might be expressed freely through the body, properly functioning together in love.

Spiritual Rise Act:

Send someone on the sick and shut-in list a card or call them.
 Make a list of the spiritual blessings God has given you.

40Days Fasting 2014 header

DAY 25 – March 14 Seeking to Rise Spiritually by Pursuing Reconciliation in Truth and Love
Scriptures: 2 Cor. 5:12; Eph. 2:16-18; Col. 1:19-23

Pray:
• Pray for believers throughout our city to be burdened with Christ’s compelling love to be reconciled to one another.
• Pray that you be reconciled with anyone with whom you have had an argument or disagreement that keeps you separated from in the body of Christ or in the world.
• Pray for truth and love to cause individuals and congregations throughout the city to pursue reconciliation with those from whom they are separated or with whom they have suffered a break in relationship.
• Pray that the enemy of unity who works division by accusing brother against brother would be defeated by the power of love permeating throughout the church.
• Pray that your children and the children of the community will grow up in the training
and instruction of the Lord and will learn to walk in His ways.
• Pray for church leaders. Pray that they will serve faithfully, humbly and with wisdom.
• Pray for persons in prison.
• Pray that unsaved families, friends, and neighbors will hear the Word, receive it and respond in faith.

Spiritual Rise Act:

 Spend time meditating and ask God to show you a person with which you need to go to and reconcile. Now do what He tells you to do.
 Learn to spend time each day quietly listening for God’s voice. Invite Him to bring thoughts to your mind from His Word or through His Spirit. Test what you hear from the written Word of God.

DAY 26 – March 15 Seeking to Rise Spiritually Pursuing Genuine Relationships through Fellowship
Scriptures: Acts 2: 42-47; Gal. 2:1-10; Phil. 2:1-4

Pray:
• Intercede for the body of Christ to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayer.
• Repent of declaring love for God while not living in love with brothers and sisters in the Lord.
• Pray that the church have a fresh conviction and commitment that brings them to pursue different relationships with those who are different from ourselves in culture, race, ethnicity, and socio-economics.
• Praise God that He is a God of fellowship and communion and, as a good Father, He loves to draw His children together.
• Pray for persons with low self-esteem and those who feel unloved. Pray that they receive help of the Lord to trust in His unfailing love, to accept that love, and to abide in that love.
• Pray for the unemployed. Pray that God will meet the needs of those without work in a way that they can thank God for the provision; that they will soon find meaningful employment and glorify God for it. Pray for resources, family and social support, and encouragement.
• Pray that members of your church will lovingly bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.
• Pray for marriages. Pray for those that are strained and that God will bring forgiveness, help and healing; that He will heal broken hearts and restore intimacy.
• Pray for the City Council. Pray that they will operate in integrity and wisdom.
• .

Spiritual Rise Act:

Start each of your prayer times in the next few days by asking the Holy Spirit to help you pray as you should. Pause to listen. Then begin to pray following His lead rather than a familiar pattern.

Linda Fegins, “The Prayer Leader” serves as prayer leader and teacher/trainer on the “Prayer Boot Camp” with the Global Missions Prayer Force and as a guest intercessor and volunteer for Girlfriends Pray a global prayer ministry. She served as Prayer Coordinator for over 13 years( later Director over the Prayer Ministry) for the Lydia Circle Christian Business and Professional Women. As part of the Lydia Circle she has lead over a dozen prayer boot camps, and has lead prayer services and workshops in the Bahamas and in South Africa and was on the prayer team of a medical missions trips to Jamaica under the leadership of Rev. Jackie McCullough. She is also a member of the National Church Prayer Leaders Network and serves as the Prayer Leader of the Intercessory Prayer Ministry of her church.

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Repenting For A Renewed Relationship With God

repentance

The Lenten Season (March 5 to April 13) is a time of repentance, self-examination, fasting and prayer in preparation for Resurrection Sunday (Easter). Renewing your sense of who you really are before God is the core of the Lenten experience and repenting of your sins. Today seek God with a repentant heart (See Joel 2: 12-24) and honestly search your heart (Psalm 139:23-24). As you pray through the 40 Days of Prayer Journey allow the Lord to examine your life thoroughly (daily post this month).

Resist the tendency to deny the need to repent and be cleansed of the Lord. Be transparent with the Lord. God offers so many wonderful results of repentance, including healing, restoring, freedom, joy and reconciliation. In Acts 3:19 the call to repentance brings hope and renewal: “Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”.

It is important to note that a repentant heart is not limited to a special season or time of the year. If we want to have effective prayer lives which bring forth life transformation and healing of the land, repentance must become a part of our lifestyle. Despite the benefits of repentance, we are resistant to the thought of repentance. Repentance isn’t a popular word. Our culture encourages us to do whatever we want when we want and does not encourage repenting. TV, music videos and movies very rarely show the consequences of our sins.

It is one thing to know that you have done something that is wrong. But it is another to be saddened and sorrowful about your actions and determine that you will turn away from that sin and never do the act again. To repent “I” or “we” must come to terms with and acknowledge that we have sinned and then turn away from such sinful behavior and be reconciled back to our loving Lord. Therefore, repentance is a change of mind that involves both a turning from sin and turning to God. Christ began his ministry with a call to repentance. (Mathew. 4:17).

We must examine every attitude, every motive, every action and ever word of evil. Repentance means that you are deeply godly sorrowful and hurt about what you have done unto the Lord and that you are determined to do all that you can not to commit that sin again. “Repentance means we are sorry about our sin to the point of grief, and we have turned and walked away from it”. Stormie Omartian, “The Power of a Praying Woman” p. 40, Harvest House Publishers, (2002).

Charles Spurgeon writes:
Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a mourning that we have committed it, a resolution to forsake it. It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved.

J. I. Packer writes:
Repentance means turning from as much as you know of your sin to give as much as you know of yourself to as much as you know of your God, and as our knowledge grows at these three points so our practice of repentance has to be enlarged.

Before we can truly repent we must admit our sins and tell them to God. Confession means we recognize we have done wrong and admit it. We cannot hide from God no matter how we try. God knows what “I” have done and wants “me and you” to know and admit in detail what “I” have done. Dick Eastman, in “The Hour That Changes the World”, says, “Confession is a heartfelt recognition of what we are. It is important to God because it indicates that we take seriously our mistakes and failures. Of course, God does not ask us to confess our sins because He needs to know we have sinned, but because He knows that we need to know we have sinned”. Dick Eastman, “The Hour That Changes the World”,p.42 , Baker Book House, (1999). If we do not confess our sins one consequence is that our prayer life will suffer as God will not hear our prayers if we have iniquity in our hearts (Psalm 66:18).

God offers many wonderful results of repentance, including healing, restoring, freedom, joy and reconciliation. In Acts 3:19 the call to repentance invites you to “repent, then turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”.

Here is an example of a prayer of repentance to help you get started in initiating self-examination , prayer and a spirit of repentance.

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Prayer of Repentance

Lord, I come humbly before You and ask you to cleanse my heart of my every sin. “Have mercy on me O, Lord according to your loving kindness and blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity and cleanse me of all of my sin. (Psalm 51:1-2) Lord create in me a clean heart. Please Lord renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10-11). Forgive me for thoughts I have had, words I have spoken and things that I have done that are not pleasing in your sight and do not glorify you. Father, forgive me I pray for my sins of_______(state them)________________________. I confess it is a sin and truly repent of these acts, words and thoughts. ( 1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:5 Proverbs 28:13, Psalm 51:6, 10). Lord search the inwards hidden places of my heart and reveal my sin to me that I may not see. (Psalm 139: 23-24). I seek to repent of everything that You show me Lord. I confess my sins to you in the full realization that you are faithful and just to forgive me of all my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.( 1John 1:9) I know that my sins are against You and You only. Grant me a broken, willing spirit and a contrite heart so I can offer it to You (Psalm 51:1-4, Psalm. 51:12, Psalm 51:17).

Thank you Father. I desire to obey your commandments and statutes. I choose to stop my sinful ways and to turn to walk upright. Help me, Lord God to bring forth fruits that are worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8). Lord I want to live a righteous, pure and holy life through your power (Colossians 1:11). I am determined to walk in the Spirit and in your ways and walk away from my sins by the power of the Holy Ghost. Grant me a godly sorrow that is not just full of regret because of the consequences of sin but sorrow that leads to true repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). Lord give me a tender heart that is sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and the conviction of sin. Holy Spirit, thank You for convicting me of my sin. Forgive me for the ways I’ve ignored Your voice and quenched and grieved You. (John 16:8; Ephesians. 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Romans. 8:1-2). Lord I praise you, Father, for your goodness that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). Lord thank you for restoring my soul so that the times of refreshing my come (Acts 3:19). Amen

So that you can begin the process of self-examination through prayer, confession, and study of the Word that leads to repentance the following action steps are suggested:

Action Steps:
1. During the Lenten season I want to encourage you to join this or a 40 day Prayer Journey even if you are beginning at day 7 or whatever day. Just begin where you are. Determine to spend quality time with the Lover(God) of your soul every day. Decide to start out with half an hour and increase it slowly. Be diligent, consistent and be faithful. We can never grow or develop an intimate relationship with God unless we spend quality time with Him.
2. Confess any sin you may be guilty of against man and God. Ask God to search you and reveal any unconfessed sin to you daily.
3. Say or write a prayer of repentance out of your heart. Above is an example of a prayer of repentance. Your prayer need not be perfect, but sincere, sorrowful and heartfelt.
4. Have a journal. God has so much to speak into your life. It may not happen overnight if you haven’t been praying on a consistent basis. But remember He is right there. Don’t give up.
5. Leave a prayer request or comment.

Linda Fegins, “The Prayer Leader” has served as Prayer Coordinator for over 13 years( later Director over the Prayer Ministry) for the Lydia Circle Christian Business and Professional Women. As part of the Lydia Circle she has lead over 8 prayer boot camps, and has lead prayer services and workshops in the Bahamas and in South Africa and was on the prayer team of a medical missions trips to Jamaica under the leadership of Rev.Jackie McCullough. She is also a member of the National Church Prayer Leaders Network and serves as the Prayer Leader of the Intercessory Prayer Team of her church.

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Day 21 Pursue Reconciliation 40 Day Prayer Journey

man and woman praying

DAY 21 – March 5- Pursing Reconciliation in Truth and Love
40 Day Prayer Journey to Life Transformation

The initial week of the Lenten season we were praying about our personal relationship with the Lord. We focused on what should be our primary pursuit of loving the Lord with all heart. The second week we focused on our relationship with our family relationships and the third week our relationship with those in the body of Christ. Today we must focus on repentance and reconciliation in broken relationships in our families and with friends and loved ones and between and among congregations.

Reconcile means-to change, exchange, reestablish, restore relationship, make things right, remove an enmity. Describes the re-establishing of a proper, loving interpersonal relationship which has been broken (Word-Wealth, the Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Nelson Publishers, 1991

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:16-18; Colossians 1:19-23

Repent: Of not being properly reconciled to the Lord and to His children, our family, friends, and other congregations; of allowing disagreements, arguments and self pursuits to keep you separated from others in your family, community and in the body of Christ; of not submitting to the Spirit of truth and love; of not submitting to God’s desire for us to love one another and to be reconciled to one another; of_____________________ ( fill in the blanks) .
Meditate, pray, and write down other areas of which to repent and for persons and situations that God places on your heart to pray about or to take action.

Pray:

• Repent for the times you have been unforgiving, judgmental, and stubborn
• Ask for forgiveness and for the mind and heart to tear down the wall of division among family members, communities and various congregations and Christian leaders.
• .Ask God to stir a continual heart of repentance in you.
• Pray for families to be burdened with Christ compelling love to be reconciles to one another; for truth and love to cause individuals to pursue reconciliation with those they have suffered a break in a relationship or from whom they have been separated.
• Pray for believers throughout our city to be burdened with Christ’s compelling love to be reconciled to one another.
• Pray for believers throughout the city to pursue reconciliation with those from whom they are separated or with whom they have suffered a break in relationship.
• Pray that the enemy of unity who works division by accusing brother against brother would be defeated by the power of love.
• Ask the Lord to free people from Satan’s trap of isolation, unforgiveness and separation and lead them to the gift of repentance and reconciliation.
• Pray that our family and community will be redeemed and restored through an outpouring of God’s gift of repentance.
Linda Fegins, The Prayer Leader, ldfaygo@aol.com

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Breached Father and Child Relationship? by Venus Mason Theus

June is the month we celebrate Father’s Day. We honor and pray for fathers, who may not be perfect, but who love their children, train their children, protect their children and have good relationships with their children. We thank God for earthly fathers who are loving, kind, protective, and wise.

I challenged men and women to make good comments and reflections about their fathers. Venus Mason Theus, author and marriage coach, shared how God healed and reconciled a breached relationship with her father and turned their relationship into a loving father daughter relationship.

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children , and the heart of the children to their fathers…Malachi 4:6

My relationship with my dad didn’t even begin until I was in my 30s. Our story could easily be a novel or a made-for-TV-movie. Adults sometimes make bad choices which cause children to suffer the consequences. But God is forgiving and longsuffering. It pleases Him to repair broken hearts and reconcile breached relationships. He demonstrated His Fatherly love toward us by sending His dear Son Jesus to reconcile us to Himself through His precious blood shed on Calvary. I love the Lord dearly and I’m glad He is in my life. Thank God for healing and redemption. I also love and thank God for my biological father. I’m so grateful that our reconciliation came while the blood still runs warm in our veins. I would hate to be standing over my father’s grave with a painful heart full of guilt and regret.

Perhaps this note comes to someone’s attention that has a strained relationship with their own father or a father with his children. Now is the time to get it right, tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us – once we’re gone, there are no do-overs. Holding grudges and making uninformed judgments are a waste of time, emotions and mental energy. If you feel your father or your child did you wrong, work on forgiving them and if possible even reconciliation. Seek God to help you move past the negative and allow yourself to cultivate your relationship.

My mom and dad were not married when I was conceived. According to Mom, they had planned to get married but a family member was so against her that they influenced my father to call the wedding off. Mom, being the strong, independent woman, she was set aside her emotional pain and focused on raising a healthy child. The late 50s was not an era that embraced out-of-wedlock parenthood. In fact when I was born, mom says some hospital personnel tried to convince her to put me up for adoption but she wouldn’t hear of it. To this day my dad’s account of their relationship is very sketchy. What I do know is that their relationship ended before I was born and they never reconciled. My maternal grandparents helped raise me. My granddad was my father figure well into my adulthood.

Although my paternal grandparents lived only about 4 blocks away from my childhood home, I rarely saw my dad in person. He had moved on with his life (as did my mother). He got married when I was 3 years old and visited me occasionally. I grew up hearing about my dad’s many successive educational and career accomplishments from my paternal grandmother. My dad was her “golden child.” I’d see photos on my grandparents’ wall of my half-brothers and sister, my dad and his wife – and yes, as aloof as they were toward me, my photos were among the others. The interesting thing is that I never missed having my dad around. My mom and maternal grandparents, even a stepfather for a brief time, made me feel loved and wanted. Whenever I visited my paternal grandparents, my granddad was friendly, but my grandmother only seemed to “tolerate” me. I never, ever felt welcome in their home.

Fast forward to the 1990s. I was in my mid-thirties when a friend of my mom’s brought a newsletter from the corporation both she and my dad worked for. By then my dad had reached the pinnacle of his career, making local history by being the first African American to hold the prestigious management position. His was the lead story of the company’s newsletter. The article told of his academic accomplishments, chronicled his climb to top of the corporation’s ladder, community service – and his family. Reading the part about his family, specifically his children, was a catalyst for me to reach out to him. The story said that Mr. Mason had three children. Therefore, that number excluded me. At that point I was no longer willing to be invisible. After speaking with my husband about it I made a decision to contact my dad. I called my grandfather and asked him to let my father know that I wanted to talk to him. Within just a couple of days I got a phone call. My dad and I met for lunch and began a series of awkward face-to-face conversations. I expressed my desire to get to know my half-siblings as well; growing up as an only child, I was excited about what I expected to be my new family. Dad said that would “take time.”

During the next year or so, my husband and daughters also began to bond with dad. Things remained somewhat awkward but everyone was trying. Oddly enough, the real breakthrough came when my paternal grandmother became gravely ill and was in intensive care. One day I stopped by my grandparents’ house to check on my grandfather. Just as I arrived he and my dad were getting into the car to visit my grandmother in the hospital. They invited me to join them and I did. My grandmother was unable to speak or sit up. She was hooked up to all sorts of apparatus but she could make gestures. The look on her face was “interesting.” My grandfather pointed to me and asked if she knew who I was. She nodded slightly in the affirmative. I can’t help but think that somehow when she saw me standing next to my dad, she felt her life had come full circle because it wasn’t long afterward that she passed away.

The pre-funeral gathering at my grandparents’ house was filled with what had to be some of North Carolina’s most bourgeois black citizens. I heard whispers from the North Carolina Masons “that must be Tony’s daughter.” “She looks just like Hazel.” etc. My husband and I were amused by my sudden celebrity knowing that my grandmother had probably never spoken a word to them about me. The scene stealer was when my dad took me over to the little makeshift receiving line that one of my brothers and my only sister had formed. I guess there’s really never a good time or place to spring an unknown sibling on an adult offspring, but this is when my dad introduced me to them. Being the first born, I’d known about them all my life, but apparently they never knew I existed. My sister refused to shake my hand. My brother gave a stellar performance by acting as if he’d been introduced to one of dad’s business associates.

At my grandmother’s gravesite there had been a slight mix-up with the burial plan my dad and grandfather had arranged so we had to wait until the cemetery personnel corrected the issue. The mourners (and the gawkers) had no choice but to stand around for about 30 minutes. Dad saw that as an opportunity to introduce me to my youngest brother. Can you say AWKWARD?

Over the years Dad and I have grown as close as I think any father/daughter could be. Our starting point was in the 90s. I know that God never makes a mistake. Only He knows what life would have been like for all of us had my dad been in my life then. Now we love and trust each other. I don’t really know what he was like when I was a child. I only know that he is a devoted husband to his wife of 51 years, his faith in God is strong and the Tony Mason I know is a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

If I’d held onto grudges and continued to act upon the information I “thought” I knew about him, my entire family would have missed out on some very special times and memories we were able to make from the point where we bonded. He’s been there for my daughters’ special events, and has been an integral part of their lives. Since he wasn’t around to walk me down the aisle when I got married, he escorted me to the Mother-of-the Bride’s seat at my firstborn’s wedding. I look forward to spending many more quality years with my daddy.

About the Author
Exquisite teacher! A leader! Refreshingly transparent are among the words used to describe Venus Mason Theus. She is a sought after advocate for Christian marriage – coaching, teaching and encouraging other women that they too, can have a Joyfully-Ever-After Marriage. In her books, blogs and workshops, Venus candidly shares her own experiences – the trials as well as the triumphs. She is passionate about cultivating a community of what she calls “P31s” – empowered, yet nurturing women who know their value and operate within the purpose for which they were created.
Venus is the author of Brown Paper Bag, a novel . Venus has also written articles for Gospel Today and Sister Talk magazines. She has made appearances on the CTN Live, Wake Up Detroit, Words- N-Motion, and Talk to Me With Brenda Perryman television shows.
Venus is the founder and host of the annual Anointed Pen Conferences for Christian Writers and the Detroit chapter president of the American Christian Writers.
Venus is a wife, mother of five, and grandmother. She has been married to the man of her dreams, Jerome “Rick” Theus, since 1985.

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Prayers for the Cities of this Nation

My heart is heavy for our cities, not just mine ,which is the City of Detroit . Right now I say Lord we need forgiveness , deliverance and healing from the violence, unrighteousness and idolatry. We pray that a spirit of Nehemiah will arise to rebuild the cities with love, peace, righteousness, and preserverance to glorify God. We pray that a spirit of repentance will cover the city.

Name your city and we can pray together.

I challenge each of you to prayerwalk your block or a school and business in your neighborbood. Pray for household salvation, restoration, peace and reconciliation. Call the names of the schools and buisnesses. Let’s report on our united efforts , although we may be in different cities around the nation and world. Let’s testify as to how prayer has changed your city, neighborhood or school.

Some Prayer Points.
1. Use 2 Chronicles 7:14
2. Pray for God’s spirit of prayer and supplication to be poured out in the city.
3. Pray for those in authority in your city.
4.Ask God to bless those who base business practice in righteousness. 5. Pray that God would frustrate plans that escalate injustice, violence, unrighteouness and shake the dominion of mammon and greed.
6. Pray for a spirit of repentance t obe released for sin and unrighteouness and that a release of God’s grace in the city. Matt.12:29,Col 2:15
7. Pray for revival in your city.

Pray Fervently, Linda Fegins May 2010 update August 12,2011
Former(over 14 yrs) Prayer Coordinator/ Director,Lydia Circle of Christian Professional and Business Women
Writer of an article in the Anthology -“Tali Cumi: Daughters Arise”
Writer of an article in the Anthology -“It’s Worth the Struggle- Inspiration for Contemporary Writers”
Christian Dramatist, “Sojourner Truth”, “Eve” etc.
Sunday School and Christian Education Teacher
Linda’s Report Blog https://instanter.wordpress.com/
Prayer Blog https://ladyofprayer.com

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