“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock. And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God! Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. “ Psalm 40:1-3

Flip to the beginning of this devotional and quickly recall the journey we have all gone on in these 21 days. God has been faithful to hear our cries, to change our mindsets, actions, and lives in so many ways and have established our steps. Because He is good and faithful, we are able to say He has put a new song in our hearts, a song of praise. Through the transformation we have gone through and continue to go through, many will see and will trust in the Lord.

I praise you Lord and thank you for making my life a living testimony of your goodness. I pray that those around me would recognize your hand of favor on my life. Give me opportunities to declare your goodness and draw people who are far from you, close to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:9

Here we have another promise from God that not only will the latter church be greater than anything we have ever seen, but that we will have peace. As the people of God, we go from glory to glory, from greater things, to even greater things. He never ceases to amaze us.

(For today’s prayer, thank God for His goodness. For everything He has done for you and everything He is going to do in your life, in your city, in Journey Church.)

“But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 36:8-11

The promises of God are the foundation of moving forward into greater things. As our faith is tested, we will come against life struggles and mindsets that will attempt to stop the momentum of the goodness of God in our lives. We as a church through this fast and devotional have committed to stepping into the greater things God has for us this year no matter the cost. For the glory working in us is far greater than any struggle! Today’s scripture is a promise of hope that as we seek transformation in our city, God promises not only to multiply us like in the past, but will DO BETTER for us than the beginning!

Lord we stand on your promises for they will come to pass. You will not only multiply Journey Church, but you have even greater things for us than in the beginning! We praise you! In Jesus name, Amen.

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together, where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to the Testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.’ For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, ‘Peace be within you.’ Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.” Psalm 122

What a beautiful picture of what our city looks like when we walk in the greater things of God! Place yourself in this scripture. How amazing and exciting to go to the house of the Lord, teeming with life, full of people from every walk of life who have been transformed by the love of God! This scripture declares the city is now rebuilt and had become a Testimony to the whole country of God’s goodness. This passage gives us the end result of our pursuit of God. In that pursuit the writer of this psalm tell us how to pray for our city, ‘(Yakima) May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.’ When we do our part in building the Kingdom of God here on earth, God then places his seal of approval on our city and declares ‘Peace be within you.’ This Church, is what it’s all about.

As I walk out the calling you have placed on my life, my prayer for the city is this: May they prosper who love you. Peace be within the walls of Yakima, prosperity within your homes. I declare peace to be within you. In Jesus name, Amen.

“Now, my son, may the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.” 1 Chronicles 22:11-12

When we prosper, the church prospers, and in turn our city is transformed. As we give out, we also receive. A key to continually seeing greater things happen in our lives is to bring about greater things in others. This scripture shows us that as we prosper, and build the house of the Lord, He gives us wisdom and understanding in reaching our city. We can’t see our city transformed without the church. The church cannot bring transformation to our city without our service and without building the church. We must first build God’s house in order to rebuild our city.

Lord show me how you would have me to serve and build your church. I desire to build your house and see my city transformed and lives changed. Reveal to me the giftings and abilities that You have given me to build your church. Amen.

(Today, if you are not a part of a ministry at Journey Church, commit to serving in one. Let’s all do our part to build God’s house and see our city transformed.)

“And they said to me, ‘The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fires.’ So it was, when I heard these words that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:3-4

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to his king. Therefore he dwelled in the citadel of the kingdom with the king. He had no idea the state in which his city was in until he got the report that this scripture describes. His reaction is one of sorrow, however, Nehemiah feels a responsibility to do something about it and immediately begins to fast and pray and cry out to God for the state of the people and the condition of the city.

It is so easy for us to get caught up in life. Busy is a disease that we all seem to have. In our fast paced world with our schedules filled with activities every minute of every day, it is easy to be in the very center of our city and not be aware of the fact that it lies in ruins. When Nehemiah’s eyes were opened to the devastation of his city, he became burdened so much that he risked his job and even his life in order to bring change to his city. And he did not stop until it was rebuilt.

As the church, it is our responsibility to bring change to our city and become relentless until it is rebuilt. We must catch a burden for our city that causes us to weep, mourn, fast, and cry out to God. Then we must take action. Just as God desires for us to have victory and see greater things in our lives, He also has greater things for our city. And we (the church) are the solution to the devastation we see around us.

Lord open my eyes to see the condition of my city. Trouble me just as Nehemiah was troubled. Break my heart for those around me. I want to reach the unreachable, love the unloved, and bring change to my city. I accept the responsibility to rebuild my city one brick at a time.

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” 3 John 1:2

Many times in church when we hear the word prosperity we think of prospering in our finances. And though this is an area of our life that God desires to bring prosperity to, He also brings prosperity in many other areas that we often overlook. In this passage, John is showing us the many ways that the Lord desires to prosper us and how financial prosperity is a byproduct of prosperity in other areas of our lives. John says ‘may we prosper in all things, even our health just as our soul prospers.’ This shows us that the first way in which God prospers us is in our soul. Our soul is made up of three parts; your mind (thoughts), will (actions), and emotions. Throughout this fast we have sought God to give us vision, to think like him, to have our actions and lives line up with his word, and to walk in the faith and authority He has given to us. We have allowed God to prosper us in our soul. When our soul is healthy and prosperous, so is our health, so is our money, so is our family, so is our marriage. Get ready, just as you have set yourself up internally to receive greater things from God, He can’t help but prosper you in ALL THINGS, including finances and health!

Lord thank you for your prosperity in my life. I pray that my soul would continue to prosper as I continually seek to know you more. I know that as my soul prospers, so shall I prosper in all things in life. I cling to this promise. You are good. Amen.

“For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. “ Ephesians 5:22-25

At first glance this scripture may seem radical in its implications. However, what Paul is trying to explain in this passage is not that God is a male chauvinist. Rather, Paul is explaining the order and workings of a healthy marriage. In the book of Genesis the bible talks about how God created man and woman equal and in His image. In a marriage however, there are roles that each spouse plays that creates a healthy, joyful, functioning marriage and Paul compares these roles to the relationship between the church and God.

Look at today’s television sitcoms and you will see more often than not that the husband is portrayed as ignorant, out of shape, and passive. While the wife is beautiful, has the final word on the workings of the house as well as children that do not respect their father. This is not the way in which the Lord intended our families to function. When the husband walks in his authority as the head of the family, respect and honor are established, much in the same way we as the church allow Christ to be head of our lives. This passage commands that husbands love their wives in the same manner that Christ loves His church and died for her. Husbands must love with a ‘whatever it takes’ love that never gives up on his bride. The security of knowing that the husband will never give up on his bride gives wives the freedom to allow the man to operate in his calling as the leader and priest of the house. When we function within the order that Christ intended for our marriages and families, we then come into alignment with heaven and are positioned to receive greater things for our marriage.

I choose today Lord to bring my marriage into alignment. I can only change myself, I pray my spouse would also have an open heart and fall into alignment as I give them the grace and room to move. I want greater things for my marriage and I desire to walk in the order You intended for my marriage. Amen.