pastor kevin schuessler

Day 22 of 40 Days of Prayer for America

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Bible verse:

“And he will be called: Everlasting Father.”  Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)

Do you find it interesting that Jesus (“for a child is born to us…”) is also named “everlasting Father”?  Is this because the Father and his Son, Jesus, are one?  In John 14:9-10, Jesus says to his disciples, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father…the words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.  Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me”.  If we want to see who the Father is, how he feels about you and me, and how he treats us, we can look at Jesus in the narratives of Scripture!  And notice how “fatherly” Jesus is with his disciples.  He calls them “children”, and loves them as a good father would love his children.  He doesn’t blast them or expel them, but lovingly calls them upward, as though he believes they will eventually get it!  This is how he treats you and me, lovingly calling us upward, to believe and trust in him more and more.  

In a country undergoing a “crisis of fatherlessness,” we long for good fathers, fathers who will stand for truth, who are wise, who self-sacrificially protect and care for their children.  No matter how old you are, will you let the Lord Jesus, father you today?  Will you allow him to love you, protect you, speak words of wisdom and direction into you and care for you?  Will you let your guard down, and let him speak life into the dead places in your heart?  I believe he so longs to do this, even more than we crave it ourselves.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, father us, as you fathered your disciples and followers of your day.  Help us overcome our distrust, reluctance and even rebellious tendencies.  And then, allow us to serve your people around us, that we may carry on Jesus’ ministry of fathering in your winsome, kind way.  And one by one, may we see a revival of people changed from the inside out, and full to overflowing with your love!  In Jesus’ name.

By Pastor Kevin Schuessler

Day 21 of 40 Days of Prayer for America

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Bible verse:

“And he will be called: Mighty God.”  Isaiah 9:6

We all know powerful people – in business, government, military, even in entertainment, etc.  But often we fear those people and what they might do, because we have seen how power often corrupts.  We crave Someone strong and powerful who will protect us from the bullies.  Humans let us down, but God never does.

The people in Jesus’ day recognized him as a “prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people” (Luke 24:19).  And the only ones who feared Jesus were those who opposed him.  He used his power to save the lost, heal the sick, raise the dead, forgive the sinner, defend the weak, etc.  He is completely trustworthy and faithful.  He will do what he did then for you today.  As you place your life in his hands, you will experience his might in the most wonderful ways.  His power to overcome your biggest bully, the evil one, will change your life.  Will you let him?  

And someday soon, when Jesus returns through the clouds, with a “loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16), all the world will see his might with our own eyes.  Will you acknowledge Christ Jesus today as your mighty God?

Prayer:  I acknowledge you, Jesus, as my mighty God.  I come under your authority, and give you permission to lead me.  I pray for the people of our nation, that more and more people would place their allegiance in You alone. Work through me to help accomplish this!  In Jesus’ name.

By Pastor Kevin Schuessler

Day 20 of 40 Days of Prayer for America

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Bible verse:

“And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor.”  Isaiah 9:6

Each society has people considered to be experts, people who are smart and gifted.  Yet we discover how their wisdom often falls short, and that they too are flawed people.  We need a Counselor, someone who is all wise, who knows us best, who understands our situation and gives us brilliant counsel.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25).  Paul points to Jesus Christ as the “wisdom of God” (:30)

We can get angry at our governmental leaders, or the experts in their respective fields.  But really what we need is to acknowledge Jesus as our “wonderful Counselor”, and to take direction from him.  In confessing him as your Lord and Savior, you are doing just that.  His wisdom doesn’t play by our world’s rules, but brings heaven’s brilliance to your problems and issues.  Will you listen to him?  Will you heed his advice?  Will you step out in faith and do what he suggests?  I promise the more you do, the more you’ll recognize how wonderful a counselor he actually is!

Prayer:  Lord God, you are brilliant, I acknowledge that.  Help me trust you and take one small step at a time as you direct.  I pray for a nation full of people who acknowledge Jesus as their Wonderful Counselor and walk in his ways.  May your infectious wisdom in me draw others to you, Lord!  In Jesus’ name.

By Pastor Kevin Schuessler

Day 3 of 40 Days of Prayer for America

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Bible Text Isaiah 6:5 (NLT)

Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

“I’m sure glad I’m not like THAT guy”… “he’s got real problems”… “I’ve got troubles, but that guy’s a MESS…!” How natural it is for us to compare ourselves to others and come out smelling sweet! We can always find someone “worse off” and think that by that standard, we are “good” with God. But the prophet Isaiah had no such illusions. He saw a vision God showed him.  In it, angelic beings were worshipping the living God with the words, “Holy, holy holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah instantly recognized he’s in the presence of a holy God, and he is undone! 

What convicts Isaiah?  His mouth. He says, ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’ He recognizes just how serious the problem is, both for himself and his people!

Are we any different in America? Are we even shocked anymore when someone uses Jesus Christ’s name, God’s most precious name, as a swear word? Or when we joke about sexual things, describing private, intimate things that belong in couples’ bedrooms? Has it become perfectly acceptable to tear apart a person’s reputation by gossip, by calling it ‘being honest?’ When we carelessly get sarcastic or insult a person, are those meaningless words, or have we done real damage? Do words actually have the power to kill, or give life?

We, too, need to confess our personal and national sin of “unclean lips” before our Father in heaven. As Isaiah came clean before God, look what God did. One of God’s angelic beings brought a live coal and touched Isaiah’s lips, and declared Isaiah forgiven! We are forgiven, too!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I confess that I have used my lips, my mouth, my words to destroy, to lie, to mock, to …. And I am sorry. Forgive me, forgive us, through Jesus and the awful price he paid on the cross! Forgive America’s people, Lord, for the careless, even destructive words out of our mouths. Touch our lips with a coal and cleanse our words, that they speak only life and honor You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Additional Bible passages: Ephesians 4:29; Proverbs 12:18, James 3:5b-8

Pastor Kevin Schuessler

Day 2 of 40 Days of Prayer for America

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Bible Text 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Our land, our country, the U.S.A. needs healing, do you agree? There is a brokenness that goes beyond the political, the economic, the social; do you sense it, too? Will the right candidate, another law, more funding, etc., heal our brokenness? Throughout history when God’s people recognized their country going down a destructive path, they called on God, their Father for help. They recognized their profound need and cried out to God out of desperation.

God, out of his deep love for US(A), who has called us to be His own, spoke these words of promise. He said, “If we will humble ourselves before Him, and pray, and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways…” (stop!). Can we do that right now? Wherever you are, would you pause, pull over, stop for a minute, and tell God you are sorry for the things we have done, for turning away from Him and for making decisions and pursuing paths that were and are not good….

Can we take time now to confess our waywardness on behalf of our country?….

We are a land that desperately needs healing and our God desires to pour that out in abundance. God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV), “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Prayer: Lord, we recognize we’ve made a mess of things. We need your help. We have turned from You and even pursued evil. We are sorry. I am sorry. Thank You for Your promise that You HEAR US, that You FORGIVE US, and that You desire to HEAL OUR LAND! We stand on that promise. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who took on Himself the punishment of humanity when He went to the cross. Thank You for the hope we have in His resurrection. Heal our marriages, heal our schools, heal our business, heal our government, heal our country, through Jesus! We believe You can and will, through Jesus! Amen

By Pastor Kevin Schuessler

Foreshadowings – On the Third Day

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week 1 foreshadowings.001Pastor Chris Dodge has been preaching a series entitled, “Foreshadowings: Remarkable Glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament.”  On the Third Day, the sixth in the series, shows how God uses even a seemingly inconsequential phrase to foreshadow the saving work of Christ.

Watch Foreshadowings: On the Third Day

Study Guide by Pastor Phil Bickel for Foreshadowings: On the Third Day

Watch the full series Foreshadowings: Remarkable Glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament

Romans 8 reveals that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave, lives in us! Listen as Pastor Kevin Schuessler, in a Call to Action, encourages us to “Ask the Holy Spirit to resurrect new thinking in our minds.”

Watch the Call to Action for On the Third Day

 

Ho Ho Ho! Happy Holidays!

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When you hear that greeting, do the Holidays feel more like “Ho-ho-ho Happy Holi-DAZE?”

During the weeks and days leading up to Christmas do you find yourself lacking excitement? Does the constant activity and gaiety around you feel overwhelming? Are shopping and planning making the season a blur? Inside are you experiencing dread, bitterness or even envy as you anticipate family get togethers? Many of us feel emotionally and physically exhausted and stress often feels a constant companion as the holidays approach. Heavy expectations, family dynamics, financial pressures and more can make the holidays feel like a crushing burden. Instead of “Happy Holidays” life feels extra difficult for many of us.  So much to do, places to go, and people to entertain, etc. Is that what the holidays are for?

I believe God has something COMPLETELY different in mind for you and me, something rather wonderful.  Instead of heaping on more expectations, He wants to be the One who gives to us.  He has SO much to give, that we can’t even comprehend it all!

He says, –

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”…And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.’       —1 Corinthians 2:9,12. NLT

I believe our culture has turned this time of the year into “holidaze” for many of us.  According to the UrbanDictionary.com, holidaze is a “term that defines the feelings of confusion and excitement people have between thanksgiving and Christmas; the blur one feels after/during shopping for gifts in crowded retail stores with heavy holiday traffic.” But God wants to make it a holiday, or holy day.  (Check out Pastor Dodge’s teaching on “Holidays – Holy Days” http://www.awakeusnow.com/biblical-roots.html)

No one is holy except God, Himself.  In fact, no one walked the planet that was holy except for Jesus, who was sinless and perfect.  He came that we may have “life and life to the full,” while the enemy has come to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10).   Jesus suffered and died for the express purpose of earning for us things too amazing for words:

  • a renewed relationship with God
  • forgiveness of all our faults
  • the promise of new perfect bodies when He returns
  • an eternity of no tears or pain
  • our hearts desires met by God Himself

This Holy One, Jesus, earned all of that for each one of us. In our broken, messed up state, we may receive it by faith, as a gift. A Christmas gift and what a gift! Right?

If that’s not enough, Jesus, before ascending to the right hand of the Father, left behind the Holy Spirit, to reside inside each of us.  By simply believing in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit!  And as this passage describes, THERE’S MORE.  The Holy Spirit wants to give us what Jesus has earned for us – all the things we need to live this life:

  • wisdom
  • strength
  • confidence
  • peace beyond our circumstances
  • hope
  • joy
  • and the list goes on

So, this time of the year, what if we completely changed our focus from all the expectations placed on us, to receiving the Gift the Father has for us, the gift of Jesus and what He has earn for us?  You are the Father’s beloved and precious dear one.  Nothing would make Him happier than for you to receive the Gift He has for you.

How do you receive His gift?  Don’t worry, the Holy Spirit will guide you.  Just listen with your heart and receive.

Make this holiday a holy day and leave the holidaze behind! Receive the best Christmas gift ever, the Gift of the Holy One, Jesus. And then, receive some more!  For He says to you – “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Happy Holy Days and Merry Christmas!

COMMIT AND DECLARE IT – OUT LOUD!

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It’s been a number of weeks since posting on Building a Prayer Wall.  Let’s pick up where we left off.

As a recap – we are looking at America and building a spiritual “wall” for her through the lens of the book of Nehemiah and seeking to apply what God might be saying to US(A).

Nehemiah, at night, under the cover of darkness, scoped out the condition of Jerusalem’s wall.  He had only received reports, so he assessed the damage himself.  Now it was time to step out – in faith, and make a public decision.  He brought Jerusalem’s leaders together for a meeting and this is his account.

“The city officials did not know I (Nehemiah) had been out there or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to anyone about my plans. I had not yet spoken to the Jewish leaders—the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration. But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.  They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.”   (Nehemiah 2:16-18 NLT)

This a key turning point in Nehemiah’s story.  It’s commitment day!  Nehemiah stepped out THREE TIMES by speaking up and committing.

  1. He told the leaders he had secretly scoped out the wall’s condition.
  2. He asked the leaders to join him in rebuilding it.
  3. He recounted how God had shown him favor this far!

What a great example of how God likes to work powerfully in and through people like Nehemiah!  And also you and me!  This account is in the Scriptures, not only for us to admire and be inspired by, but for God to provoke us, as well, to step out in faith toward Him. This is what I believe we are to do:

  1. Once we determine the condition of America’s spiritual wall (by asking the Holy Spirit to give insight and wisdom), tell someone what you believe to be true.  How have we strayed from God’s wonderful plan for US(A)?  How have we turned our backs on Him and followed our own ways?
  2. Ask that person (or persons) to join you in prayer.  Pray from the perspective that God’s will is always good, perfect and pleasing (Romans 12:2).
  3. Recount how God has shown this country favor, and shown YOU favor.  Pray with thankful confidence in Him.

It doesn’t have to be complicated or arduous, just a simple step of faith.  One person joining with another person to do our part in rebuilding America’s spiritual wall. So let’s pray! In Jesus’ Name!

BUILDING A PRAYER WALL FOR AMERICA LAUNCHES TODAY!

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Today is the launch of Building a Prayer Wall for America. We are inviting people from all around the country to build Tablecard Building a Wall of Prayer for Americaa “Wall of Prayer” for America: Followers of Jesus in every state committed to daily prayer to God for a spiritual Awakening in our nation.

What could the future of America look like if God’s people came together in prayer for her? We invite you to join us and others from across this great nation in rebuilding the foundation on which America was established. Let us commit to praying for an awakening, for revival, for healing. One nation, under God, built and rebuilt on Jesus the Foundation.

BUILD A WALL OF PRAYER!  By Pastor Chris Dodge

Our nation, dearly loved by all, needs our prayers.
These game plan use this one 2are critical times. It has nothing to do with partisan politics or political parties. It has everything to do with turning the hearts of people back to God. God desires that His people look to Him and that people everywhere come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Only that can renew a nation and only that can change the future.  So we invite you to join us in prayer for our country for the next 52 weeks.

WHAT IS A PRAYER  WALL?  By Pastor Kevin Schuessler

A prayer wall is a spiritual wall that is a barricade to evil and holds people inside its walls together!  It is doing by prayer what Nehemiah did physically.  Nehemiah and God’s people were in a broken-down state.  The city wall around Jerusalem was in shambles, allowing Israel’s enemies the ability to keep its citizens in a defeated state.

Prayer with verbiage for webpage.jpg

Be part of praying for America. Join us and others from across America in praying for revival, a Great Awakening, for the people, for the church, for our nation and our nation’s leaders. Join us today in building a prayer wall for AmerI want to Pray for America-3ica.

Available each week for 52 weeks:

Prayer points

Bible Reading

Devotional

                         

There is no set date to start. Start when it works for you!  Start with WEEK 1 and finish with WEEK 52.

  • PRAY individually or gather a group to pray together.
  • SIGN UP by filling out the registration form. Tell us where you are from and we will add your city on our map of America.
  • CLICK “yes” to receiving our Prayer Wall Newsletter for encouragement, emergency prayer needs for America, and important updates and info.
  • GO TO MATERIALS – Download materials.

Sign Up Here.    Download Materials Here.   View Pastor Dodge’s video invitation below and learn about the free resources available for individual and group pray-ers!

4. WHY BUILD A PRAYER WALL?

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Today is day 4 of 5 answering your questions about joining us in building a prayer wall for America.

What difference could the Prayer Wall make?

The Prayer Wall protects us from easy access of the evil one into our lives and shuts down his plan to “kill, steal and destroy.” (John 10:10)  Through prayer we seek to ask God for what he has already promised and desires for us – that we may have “life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)  This is what Jesus, our Good Shepherd promised to those who follow him.  Let’s ask for God’s fullness for our people and our country, through Jesus Christ.  Later in John 10, Jesus promised that “my sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27 NLT) What if because of the Wall of Prayer offered up by God’s people, we see this kind of response to God’s goodness – people listening to Jesus and following Him in their daily lives?  Let’s believe and pray!

God listens and answers people’s prayers.

Nehemiah’s prayer was no small request.  He was planning to ask his king for help, which could have gotten him killed!  This is what he prayed to God before meeting with the king.  “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”  (Nehemiah 1:10-11 NLT) God SO answered Nehemiah’s prayer!  The king asked Nehemiah what his trouble was, and also what he could do!  The king could have executed Nehemiah. (It was illegal to have a “bad day” around the king!)  Instead, God answered Nehemiah’s prayer by causing the king to feel favorable towards Nehemiah and to be willing to help him. This same God who answered Nehemiah’s audacious prayer, answers ours!  So let’s pray. Let’s ask specifically, audaciously, boldly for our country, for our people.  Ask and pray as boldly as the Holy Spirit leads.  And watch what God does!

Pastor Dodge on Question #4 Why build a Prayer Wall?

Tomorrow: HOW CAN I BE PART OF BUILDING A PRAYER WALL FOR AMERICA?

We extend an invitation to people all across America. Construction kicked off on March 12th with a message from Pastor Chris Dodge. It was followed by these postings: Question #1 Is it time to build a prayers wall for America? Question #2 What is a prayer wall and who builds it?  Question #3  How does construction of the prayer wall begin?  Upcoming: Question #5 How can I be part of building a prayer wall for America?

To become part of the team:

  1. Go to our Prayer Wall webpage and review info and resources. (New info will be going up regularly.)
  2. Follow our blog . Each day, beginning Monday, March 13, Pastor Kevin  will be sending out more information that will answer all your questions.
  3. Follow us on Facebook for up-to-the-minute information on the Prayer Wall Construction.
  4. Follow us on Twitter.
  5. Stay tuned for more info!