Pray for your City

I would rather die alone...

I would rather die alone, hurting and poor as a child of God than as a rich and famous atheist. This is what I was thinking when I saw the CNN interview with Christopher Hitchens. He was a famous atheist author that just died yesterday of cancer. In not so many words he stated that God was an illusion and Christianity is a "plagiarism of a plagiarism of a hearsay of a hearsay, of an illusion of an illusion, extending all the way back to a fabrication of a few nonevents." My heart feels sad and heavy for this man and the millions of others like him that don't know God. 

Read more:Christopher Hitchens: God's favorite atheist?http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=378513#ixzz1glJa0vvi

PrayforFlorida.com "40 days" just announced.

National Day of Prayer Florida announces 40 days of prayer and fasting starting January 8th. Please visit our new website at www.PrayforFlorida.com We will spend 40 days praying for our state. There is great power when intercesors from all over our state join together to pray for every area of our state as a combined force of prayer and intercession. We have published a 40 day calendar that can be printed and placed on your refrigerator. We will be inviting churches from all over the state to join us also. You may ask your pastor if this is something that your church may consider being a part of.  

"40 days" of prayer and fasting for Pensacola starts January 8th at 9pm!

The dates for our next "40 days" to pray and fast for Pensacola has just been announced and the website has been updated at www.PrayforPensacola.com We have a 40 day calendar for Pensacola and also a calendar for the state of Florida that will be given to intercessors around the state of Florida. This year we will be meeting for a time of worship at a different church every Friday starting at Hearts of Love on January 13th. We will update the list of churches on our website and blog as they are announced. Please visit our website and prayerfully consider taking part this coming year.

"When I pray coincidences happen and when I don't, they don't." William Temple A few of the interesting coincidences that have happened here since "40 days" has started. Escambia County FCAT scores continue to rise Escambia County Graduation rates now above 79%  No hurricanes have hit our state since 2005 Change in Pensacola Government to strong Mayor H2 consulting lands 12 billion VA contract Local Football star Trent Richardson named nation's best running back Abortion clinic on 9th closed for 9 months Abortion clinic on Village Oaks closed indefinitely Abortions in our city have dropped from 2700/yr to less than 1800/yr AA baseball team with Jim Riggleman announced as Manager Airport gets 35mm facelift and Southwest Airlines buys AirTran More than a few churches have moved to two or more services on Sunday Churches are growing in attendance Increase in communication between different denominations Downtown technology campus has groundbreaking National Day of Prayer Florida task force based in Pensacola Many Christians have been getting jobs in positions of influence

Baseball and God

The bible says that we have been created in the image of God. Which leads me to believe that if we like sports then God must like sports. There is something inside of us that is designed to pursue healthy and fun competition. As we have been praying and fasting for our city we have seen many changes but with this blog on want to focus on just one. Baseball.

In my studies of what makes a city great I realized that each great city (Chicago, London, etc) has a professional sports team. As I have been praying for Pensacola the past few years I have often asked God for a team that we can call our own. I pray that Pensacola would one day have a Professional Baseball or Football team with our own huge stadium. I realize that this is a long-term prayer but I feel God is moving us this way. UWF has made a decision to start a football team and now we have the Cincinnatti Reds AA feeder team called the Blue Wahoos. This is remarkable news for such a small city. Do you see how God sets us up with the right people to pull together the prayers of His saints? Quint Studor has made it a personal passion to get us this team and for that I am thankful. And the fact that he is from LaGrange IL makes him even more allright with me. (I went to grade school at St. Cletus in LaGrange, IL)

Furthermore, it has just been announced that Jim Riggleman is going to be the manager for the first season. Some of you may remember Jim Riggleman when he was coach for the Chicago Cubs. Once again I see our prayers working together to create a city that will some day be considered great. I realize in the grand scheme of things a sports team may seem insignificant but as we pray and intercede on behalf of the citizens of Pensacola, God will pour out His blessings and we will not be able to contain them.

Anti-depressant medication

The best anti-depressant medicine is laying your life down for others. Helping someone less fortunate than yourself fixes a host of problems. It is quite common to feel sorry for yourself and depressed. In fact, the more we focus on our own problems the more they seem to overwhelm us. That is why it is important to break the cycle by serving others.

I am sitting outside in my backyard writing this and I don't feel too good. I think I may be coming down with a cold/flu. Anyway, I just asked my daughter to bring me a big glass of water. She went inside and the next thing I hear is fighting. My son then brings me the water. They were fighting over who gets to bring me the water. I told my son "don't steal your sister's blessing". He went back inside and then my two daughters come out each holding the glass together walking very slowly. They hand it to me and I tell them both "thank you very much". They both left very happy. They understand better than most of us that serving and giving to others will bring joy. 

Serving others really does bring happiness to our hearts. Remember the saying, "It is better to give than to receive?" The moral of the statement is that we get an inner joy by giving to others. In fact, I would go as far as to say we get inner healing. I am not a doctor and cannot speak to chronic and deep depression but I can speak to the typical person  I meet on the street dealing with sadness, loneliness and basic depression. Get out of the house and learn to lay down your life for another. 

John 15:12-14 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.