2014 Prayer Calendar - July
July 2014 - Arts
Read the TS Newsletter for July 2014 (PDF file - 900Kb - 20 pages)
The July edition contains articles from many leaders across the church and marketplace:
The Salvation Army also supports the Arts sphere:
Creative magazine and their
Creative Arts Department - "Engaging, encouraging, equipping...for His glory".
To quote their beautiful Prayer for Creative Arts (go to About Us and click on Our Prayer):
Use us, Lord, ENGAGE us personally and corporately; use us to engage your people in sincere worship; use us for the engaging of your people in your heart through the creative arts; engage us in your mission so that we can engage others.
Use us, Lord, ENCOURAGE us through the Holy Spirit as we seek You; use us to encourage those who do not know Your goodness, to bring them into the full knowledge of God and salvation through Jesus Christ; use us to encourage those who are serving You and refresh them through the gifts You've given us.
Use us, Lord, EQUIP us thoroughly for every good work; use us to equip those who would serve you with their gifts; use us to equip your soldiers for the fight, with joy in their hearts and a song in their mouths; we seek to equip the artists you've created with skilful hands and servant hearts.
Use us, Lord, FOR YOUR GLORY. We are mindful of the tendency of artistic pride and ego to taint pure worship. Our desire is to give glory to the only One who deserves it, and that is You. Lord, keep us mindful that You made Yourself nothing and came to serve rather than be served.
© Territorial Mission Resources Department - Australia Southern Territory
Intercession for Christians in Creative and Performing Arts (excerpt)
(By Stuart Bell)
Shortly after coming to faith I received some prayer ministry. During the counselling one of the ministers said to me, 'Jesus has a surprise for you'.
I turned my attention to God and heard him speak 'don't sell your sound equipment'.
At the time I found this difficult to understand as my priorities were elsewhere and my pursuit of music production was something I deeply associated with my own sinfulness, brokenness and idolatry.
Throughout the following years I commenced a career working with homeless youth, which has been an amazing journey; however my passion for Hip Hop and my continuing,
unrealized desire to create music caused a tremendous, painful vacuum in my life which I could not overcome.
God continued his ministry to me and in September 2012 I joined the 'ICCPA', a group of Christian artists who support each other to develop our creative gifts for the Kingdom through intercessory prayer.
The group brought me to an understanding of my position Christ and the powerful tool my music could be to people who identify with the Hip Hop culture which remain dear to my heart.
The LausanneARTS Network: What's it About? (excerpt)
(compiled and arranged by Ann Boland)
Lausanne ARTS longs to see the Church in all cultures energetically engaging the arts as a context for mission by:
- Bringing the arts back in to the life of the faith community as a valid and valuable component of our call to discipleship;
- Supporting those with artistic gifts, especially sisters and brothers in Christ, so that they may flourish in their work;
- Letting the arts serve as an hospitable environment in which we can acknowledge and come to know the neighbor and the stranger;
- Respecting cultural differences and celebrating indigenous artistic expression.
The Lausanne ARTS effort and its network exist to catalyze Christian artists and evangelical leaders to collaborate through mutual understanding and partnership
concerning the role of the artist and the arts in World Evangelization.
FINDING YOUR VOICE (excerpt)
('Finding Your Voice' - Chapter 6. from
One - Complete Intimacy with God
by Heidi Wysman)
Peter was the only disciple that yelled out from the boat, "If it is you Lord tell me to come to you," (Matthew 14:28) and as soon as he gets the word, he jumps straight out of the boat.
Peter never lived in the 'safe' zone. At times he would have seemed somewhat reckless.
What could compare with the freedom he experienced when he walked on water?
Even though Peter denied Christ on the day of His arrest, and many make a point of his weakness, admittedly he was frightened BUT HE WAS PRESENT.
At Jesus' trial where were the 5000 Jesus fed? All were silent.
If you want to be used by God, be present. Making mistakes won't disqualify you, running away in fear will.
When you have stepped out into the unknown with Him you know you are co-working alongside, or partnering with the Holy Spirit and bringing the Kingdom to earth.
Your complete dependency draws out His strength in a greater measure.
Real Repentance (excerpt)
(By Dr. Glenda Lattimore)
Repentance is heart-transforming. It changes us radically from the inside out. We are made different from who we were before. We are as new and real as a new baby.
Conviction of sin is like the whips that came against the back of our precious Lord; it is painful as it strips our flesh from our backs so we see the 'bare bones' of our sinful self exposed and naked.
We see ourselves as our Holy God sees us. His plumb line is our new measure of worth, and we suddenly and fearfully glimpse just how far we fall short.
It is shocking and frightening. This is the 'reverential fear' and awe of which God's Word speaks.
It makes us lower our heads, our whole person, and tremble in humility before Elohim, our Living, All Powerful and Sovereign GOD.
His Holiness takes our breath away. We can't stand in His Presence, much less walk or 'drive by'.
True conviction of sin causes tears to fall - streams in the desert. It causes an agony of spirit to see our darkness in His Light.
My friend, repentance is not 'light weight'. It is as hard and heavy and splintered as the Cross our Lord carried on His back. We are meant to tremble under the weight of it. Our knees should buckle.
As we lay down that load at the foot of the Cross and look up into the disfigured face and piercing eyes of He Who Is Holy and without sin,
the veil of our heart should be torn in grief and our tongues automatically confess and worship Yeshua HaMashiach as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, without ceasing forevermore!
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