A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time. (Isaiah 60:22)

What were 10 of the top spiritual stories in Culpeper in 2007?
What were 10 of the top spiritual stories in your community in 2007?

The main headline on the front page of yesterday’s local newspaper read “The top 10 of 2007.” The paper went on to list these top 10 stories of 2007 as ranked by the editors and reporters of the Culpeper Star Exponent: 1) The race for sheriff, 2) illegal immigration, 3) trench collapse, 4) housing slump, 5) new businesses, 6) Josh Thomas, 7) Co. 11 suspension, 8) Dominion Power plan, 9) consolidation, and 10) drought. According to a vote by Associated Press members, the top news story in America in 2007 was the Virginia Tech killings.

But what happened spiritually in 2007? Are the people in my community better or worse off? From my perspective, the spiritual climate in Culpeper improved substantially. In chronological order, here are 10 of my favorite spiritual stories for 2007:

1) Wired for Success
2) Prayer Walk of Binns Middle School on March 25
3) Culpeper hosts three National Day of Prayer rallies on May 1-2, 2007
4) The Extraordinary Miracle of 800 Battle Cry Tickets
5) Global Day of Prayer assembly on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2007
6) Weekly “Marching Through Culpeper” prayer conference calls were started by Virginia Morton in July 2007. We believe God is going to turn Virginia’s book into a TV mini-series and then a major motion picture to heal the heart of America.
7) Candlelight Prayer Vigil for Butch Mills on 9-11 (Sep 11, 2007)
8) Celebration of 150th Anniversary of Fulton Street Revival on Sep 24, 2007
9) Culpeper community Thanksgiving service on Tuesday Nov 20 (Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie and Butch Mills)
10) Culpeper models successful prison re-entry program (Rev. Mark Jarvis)

Of course, these 10 stories represent only a very small fraction of the many great things that God did in Culpeper in 2007. Thank you to all of you (locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally) who are sowing your prayers, time, treasure, and talent to make Culpeper and Virginia a bright light for the world.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for the many ways You blessed Culpeper in 2007. We continue to cry out to You, “Lord, have mercy.” We ask You to give us Your best, not what we deserve. Bring in Your spiritual tsunami. Bless us with godly leaders in the pulpit and in the marketplace. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Links of the Day
Top 10 Spiritual Stories of 2007 – details with links. Also photo gallery for all of 2007.

Photo gallery for all of 2007

Blessings to take an active role in the spiritual growth of your community!

What happened spiritually in 2007? Are the people in my community better or worse off? From my perspective, the spiritual climate in Culpeper improved substantially. In chronological order, here are 10 of my favorite spiritual stories for 2007:

1) “Wired for Success”
On Jan 18, 2007, Gov. Tim Kaine flew into Culpeper with Manuel Mandina, the Founder of Terremark Worldwide, to announce that Terremark was going to build a $270 million high tech data center in Culpeper. Mr. Mandina compared this data center to an airport hub and said it would be an online marketplace for business, education, and government. Our Pray Culpeper team felt this was a huge answer to prayer after praying weekly for 18 months for God to bless our marketplace leaders in business, education, and government.

2) Prayer Walk of Binns Middle School on March 25

3) Culpeper hosts three National Day of Prayer rallies on May 1-2, 2007
At the main event held at the Culpeper courthouse at Noon on May 2, three of our local marketplace leaders shared the importance of their faith and prayer in their work. And rewarded all three. Dr. David Cox, superintendant of Culpeper County Public Schools, received a 4-year contract extension along with a healthy salary increase. Steve Nixon, Vice Chairman of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors, won his re-election campaign with the 2nd largest margin of all the elections. Jim Branch won the hotly contested sheriff’s race.

See Testimony From NDP Freedom Youth Rally
See Pray Without Ceasing

4) The Extraordinary Miracle of 800 Battle Cry Tickets
On May 11-12, 2007, the same weekend America’s 400th Anniversary celebration was taking place in Jamestown Virginia, Battle Cry 2007 took place at the Nissan Pavilion in northern Virginia. About 15,000-20,000 youth and youth leaders showed up for this amazing event sponsored by Teen Mania Ministries [www.teenmania.com]. Ron Luce, the Founder and President of Teen Mania, challenged the youth of our nation to “Rise Up” and let their voices be heard to reclaim America for God.

As I reflect back on what happened this past weekend at Battle Cry 2007, I’m in awe of how God has blessed the united prayers of our Pray Culpeper team. Not only did God multiply the number of Battle Cry tickets that Dewey McDonnell purchased from 40 (2006) to 400 to 800 (2007), but He then united the hearts of many of our local youth leaders to bring their youth to Battle Cry 2007, and He moved this event from Baltimore to Virginia, making it easier and cheaper for our local youth to attend.

God also gave Dewey the opportunity to display our nine-foot wide Pray Culpeper banner at the Nissan Pavilion and to get on stage with Ron Luce to share the 40-400-800 miracle in front of thousands of people live and to millions more through TV and the Internet.

5) Global Day of Prayer assembly on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2007
For the first time, this public Christian event was held both in English and Spanish

6) Weekly “Marching Through Culpeper” prayer conference calls were started by Virginia Morton in July 2007. We believe God is going to turn Virginia’s book into a TV mini-series and then a major motion picture to heal the heart of America.

7) Candlelight Prayer Vigil for Butch Mills on 9-11 (Sep 11, 2007)

8) Celebration of 150th Anniversary of Fulton Street Revival on Sep 24, 2007

9) Culpeper community Thanksgiving service on Tuesday Nov 20, 2007

With Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie as our keynote speaker, we had record attendance. The return and testimony of Butch Mills delighted the crowd.

10) Culpeper models successful prison re-entry program (Rev. Mark Jarvis)

Of course, these 10 stories represent a very small fraction of the big things that God did in Culpeper in 2007. To all of you who have been sowing your lives and prayers to make Culpeper a bright light for the world, I say, “Thank you!”

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)

What might happen if you stepped into and embraced your destiny?

Virginia Morton asked for me to clarify a mistake in the last paragraph of yesterday’s devotional. The picnic at Robert Duvall’s farm was limited to about 1,000 people. It was not a private party.

The “No Power Picnic” on Sunday July 22 was sponsored by the Piedmont Environment Council [www.pecva.org] to benefit their powerline campaign to stop Dominion Power from erecting huge towers to carry electric power throughout historic and scenic parts of Virginia and several other states. God blessed us with an absolutely gorgeous day. Picnic activities included live bands, organized games, and family fun.

Before leaving to ride to the picnic with the Morton’s and Ramer’s, I did research online to learn more about Robert and Luciana. I learned that Buenos Aires (Argentina) is Robert’s favorite city. He met Luciana (his Argentine wife) in 1997 when he was walking the streets of Buenos Aires while in Argentina making his movie. Robert speaks Spanish fluently. This is quite interesting because of the tremendous favor and influence that Rick Heeren and the Harvest Evangelism team have in Buenos Aires. It’s also interesting that Robert was born on January 5, 1931, the same month and year as my father.

When Robert and Luciana Duvall came into the huge open-air tent to speak to the large crowd of about 1,000 people, Virginia Morton was able to position herself about 10 feet directly in front of them.

The first thing Robert did when he spoke was share a scripture. He told the crowd he doesn’t consider himself a very religious person, but he does read the Bible about three days each week. He shared how he read Psalm 133 earlier in the day and this verse stood out – “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Amazing enough, that is the exact verse that Virginia Morton chose to be the theme for Pray Culpeper and the weekly prayer articles she writes for the Culpeper Star Exponent newspaper.

After the different speakers finished speaking, people rushed over to talk to Robert Duvall. Luciana went back to the private party area reserved for special guests. I wanted to talk to her to share about Harvest Evangelism and Argentina, but the general public was not allowed in the private area.

However, eventually Luciana came back to the border of the private area. When she did, God opened the door for me to briefly share my heart and capture her heart. When I told her Argentina is a detonator country for transformation for the entire world, that got her attention. I told her about Rick Heeren, The Elk River Story, and the extremely positive influence they had on the current political leaders of Buenos Aires.

Luciana then invited me to come back with her to the private party area. She introduced me to Allen, a close friend of Robert Duvall. Robert had previously encouraged Allen to write a script, which he did and was turned into a TV mini-series or a movie. While I was talking to Allen, he asked me for one of my business cards.

Prayer Power
Holy, holy, holy Father, thank You for tremendous blessings and favor this past weekend. Thank You for opening the door for us to meet Robert and Luciana Duvall. Thank You for Robert’s humility, servant’s heart, and acknowledgment of You. Thank You for sending Luciana from Argentina to bless Virginia. I pray the blood of Jesus over the Duvall family, their home, and their ministry. May Robert and Luciana choose to join the Marching Through Culpeper team. Bless Robert to accomplish far more in the remaining years of his life than he did in his first 76. To God be all the glory, honor, and praise, now and forever. Thank You Jesus. I love You so much. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Photos from visit to Robert Duvall’s farm on July 22, 2007 [http://www.yourdailyblessing.com/content.cfm?id=2398]

Blessings to be strong and of good courage to step into your destiny!