Word for 2009 - The year of new Faith.
Luke 18:7-8
And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Faith is what the Lord looking for when he returns. In this passage we are being warned of how little of it will be there when our Savior returns. It is the one thing that pleases God. (Hebrews 11:6) If faith could commend the ancients before the power of the work of Christ were in effect, then how much more can it do now?

I see that the Lord is doing a new thing in 2009 for Riverside. Just as we are moving into a new location, so are we moving into a new place in our spiritual realm. I see a new anointing being poured out over our community. As others have already said in our community, we know we cannot put new wine in old wineskins. So it must be for us to prepare ourselves in new ways for the new thing that the Lord desires to do in us. We must prepare our hearts, minds, and souls to be fresh and have an eagerness to see things differently. We must desire to see something new or we will not receive it when it happens.

Let us set our minds to be ready and desire for the power of God's Kingdom to break forth. But, we cannot be satisfied with simply stating this need for preparation - We must actually prepare for it! So let us all enter into a mindset and a lifestyle of pursuing the treasure of the Kingdom. We should all enter into prayer and fasting this year. We should all enter Spirit led bible study. We should all set our lives towards not only knowing God's heart, but also living out his heart in our community.

We must chase after what God has to set up for us. It will not come by us being complacent or not reaching out for it through belief and faith. We must actively build up each other's faith so that we can appropriate the fullness of what the Lord is doing this year. Everyone - all the time. This is the year that we as a community are going to really live out God's love and his power to change the world. Let each of us reach deep down into our souls and cast out anything that hinders our complete trust and love of the Lord. We have a great adventure ahead of us! God Bless
Shema

Dear Father God,
We submit ourselves to your Will. We open our hearts to being born from above - to receiving from you the new spirit and new life that you have for us. We agree you and seek earnestly the fresh breath that you are sending to us. We ask that you will open our hearts and our minds to anything in our community, which is not pleasing to you, and we apply the Cross and the Blood of Jesus that we might be reborn in fullness to what you are doing. Your Kingdom right now in our hearts, and may this new thing be born in Riverside. As you have spoken, may it be done in us. In the precious name of our Savior Jesus we pray. Amen