During this mornings Morning Glory Watch, the Lord impressed upon my heart, Jeremiah 29:4-7:
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, "Build houses and live in them; plant gardens, and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers fo sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there adn do not decrease. And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare."
The last part of that passage of scripture caught me by surprise this morning. God's intention was for His very own people to engaging and influencing the community they had been exiled to...Babylon! Just as then, so it is now. Most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem had been taught that Babylon was evil. I can't count how many times I've said the very same thing, much less the number of times I hear it today from so many well intentioned preachers. The scripture says "in Babylon's welfare, the inhabitants of Jerusalem will have welfare!" The welfare, peace and prosperity of Babylon directly affected the people of God. In otherwords seek the welfare of Brevard County (or where ever you may be living right now)..and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have welfare."
Before I get too far ahead, I believe it is important to identify a few of the obstacles this call to action reveals.Greed, a religious spirit, favoritism, walls of division, human trafficking, pride and complacency overshadow the county. To each of these strongholds, there remains a strategy the Lord has to overcome. Through God we should be displaying, as active partners with Him, as we become part of the solution and not part of the problem--pointing to Jesus.
2 Corinthians 10:4, ESV ~ For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
There is still many teachings and books on community transformation, but it all starts with the individual and then the family; for out of the family comes the community. It is the individual who becomes first a place of habitation for the Lord Himself, and then a house of prayer.
Matthew 21:13~ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
The family then becomes a larger house of prayer where we begin to experience God's order and operation. It is where we begin to learn how to interact within the boundaries of God's Kingdom. From there our influence and impact on and in our community should function as a natural extentsion of our family.
"seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare."
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, "Build houses and live in them; plant gardens, and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers fo sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there adn do not decrease. And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare."
The last part of that passage of scripture caught me by surprise this morning. God's intention was for His very own people to engaging and influencing the community they had been exiled to...Babylon! Just as then, so it is now. Most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem had been taught that Babylon was evil. I can't count how many times I've said the very same thing, much less the number of times I hear it today from so many well intentioned preachers. The scripture says "in Babylon's welfare, the inhabitants of Jerusalem will have welfare!" The welfare, peace and prosperity of Babylon directly affected the people of God. In otherwords seek the welfare of Brevard County (or where ever you may be living right now)..and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have welfare."
Before I get too far ahead, I believe it is important to identify a few of the obstacles this call to action reveals.Greed, a religious spirit, favoritism, walls of division, human trafficking, pride and complacency overshadow the county. To each of these strongholds, there remains a strategy the Lord has to overcome. Through God we should be displaying, as active partners with Him, as we become part of the solution and not part of the problem--pointing to Jesus.
2 Corinthians 10:4, ESV ~ For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
There is still many teachings and books on community transformation, but it all starts with the individual and then the family; for out of the family comes the community. It is the individual who becomes first a place of habitation for the Lord Himself, and then a house of prayer.
Matthew 21:13~ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
The family then becomes a larger house of prayer where we begin to experience God's order and operation. It is where we begin to learn how to interact within the boundaries of God's Kingdom. From there our influence and impact on and in our community should function as a natural extentsion of our family.
"seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare."