October 2020 | Promise Keepers

7 Day Prayer Guide for UNITY

October 23, 2020By PK ManagerUncategorized

One of the things we can do to build unity in the body of Christ is to pray together. Will you join me in praying these prayers for unity, knowing that kingdom disciples around our country are praying them as well? Words matter. Prayers have power. Let’s all stand together, speak up through collective prayer, and seek God’s hand of healing in our land.

MONDAY

Lord, help me to model unity just like Jesus did. Help me look beyond my own comfort zone and experience the strength of diversity. Make my voice one that encourages living in the power of unity. In Christ’s name I pray this.

TUESDAY

Lord, make my heart righteous through an intentional pursuit of unity. Use my life as a testimony of unity to others and give me wisdom on how I can contribute to strengthening the community around me, including this nation. In Christ’s name I pray this.

WEDNESDAY

Lord, my purpose is to glorify You and to make Your name known through the love I share with others in your name. Joy and peace come as we seek unity and live in a spirit of oneness. Let me walk in that oneness and experience its fruit. In Christ’s name I pray this.

THURSDAY

Lord, I ask that You help all who are called by Your name to live without divisions among us. Help us to be rooted in Your Word and Your truth. Let falsehood and lies be obvious to all. Give us discernment to know Your truth. In Christ’s name I pray this.

FRIDAY

Lord, I come to you in repentance for the disunity we have allowed among ourselves. I repent of our silence—the times we have not spoken up for unity when we were given the opportunity to do so. Forgive us for walking in division, hatred, spite, arrogance and animosity. In Christ’s name I pray this.

SATURDAY

Lord, You have told us in Scripture that our unity lets others know we are Your followers. May this become manifest in my life and in the lives of my family members, fellow church members and believers all across our nation and around the world. In Christ’s name I pray.

SUNDAY

Lord, may we in the body of Christ be more unified than ever before and lift up the shield of faith to defeat the destructive forces that seek to divide us. Christ’s name I pray.

This 7-Day Prayer Guide is provided by our partner ministry Dr. Tony Evans Urban Alternative.

Devotional: Peace, Hope, and Love

October 19, 2020By PK ManagerDevotional

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

– Romans 5:1-5

At one time or another, most men search for happiness in the wrong way. We try to find it in seeking money, power, pleasure and fame. But Paul tells us where we can find the most sought-after things in life. He lists three practical benefits of following Christ: peace with God (v. 1), hope in affliction (v. 3), and love that’s unconditional (v. 5).

Look over your life and identify the places, things or experiences you go to in search of happiness. Do they actually produce happiness? Does that happiness last? Now consider the three benefits of knowing Christ that Paul mentions. These benefits hold considerable power to change your whole outlook on life (and death). They go far beyond any search for temporary happiness.

This devotional is an excerpt from the PK Study Bible. For more devotionals and encouraging resources, download the FREE Promise Keepers app. (Download for iOS or for Android.)

In the New Podcast, ‘On the Edge with Ken Harrison’ Senator James Lankford Sees Godly Men as Key to Solving America’s Most Pressing Problems

October 17, 2020By PK ManagerNews

“If the godly men of this nation would actually love their wife, love their children and would actually walk with God in the workplace, we would not have the nation that we’re in right now.”

Ken Harrison, CEO of WaterStone and volunteer chairman of Promise Keepers, explores issues of faith, manhood, and the role of government in the latest podcast of “On the Edge with Ken Harrison.”

The podcast, available in both audio and video form, can be found on YouTube and top podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify. Podcast listeners can also receive a challenging weekly devotional that will inspire them to put their faith into action.

Senator Lankford served four years in the U.S. House of Representatives for central Oklahoma before being overwhelmingly elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014. Before his service in Congress, James served students and families for more than 20 years in ministry, including 15 years as the Director of Student Ministry for the Baptist Convention of Oklahoma and Director of the Falls Creek Youth Camp, the largest youth camp in the United States.

Highlights of Senator Lankford’s insights on the podcast include:

• The Key to Changing Our Nation Is Godly Men

“If the godly men of this nation would actually love their wife, love their children, and would actually walk with God in the workplace, we would not have the nation that we’re in right now.”

• The Key to Godly Men Is a Vital Faith

“If your faith is something that affects your weekends. That’s not a faith. That’s a hobby. A hobby is something you do on weekends. Faith is something that permeates every part of what you do.”

• God Wants Godly People in Government

“God has an interest in what’s happening in politics. It’s not that we’re a theocracy. We’re not a theocracy. We’re a republic. But it is clear that God, as the Creator, is interested in who’s actually serving in government as well and what their values and what their morals really are and what their priorities are. So for folks that are hesitating and saying, ‘Gosh, politics is such a dirty business. It’s like journalism or Hollywood. It’s such a dirty business. I don’t know if I want to get into it.’ I’ll say to them, ‘What is better? No salt or salt being applied? If you have an interest in getting involved in that, I know it’s hard. I know it’s difficult. Go apply salt to it and see what happens.’”

• God Has A LOT To Say ABOUT Government and TO Those Who Govern

“If you look at the Old Testament, 36 of the 39 books in the Old Testament were written to by or about a political leader. If you look at a third of the pages of the New Testament, not the total books, but of the pages of the New Testament, the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts, both of those were written to a political leader to be able to explain the truth of the Gospel to them.”

• I KNOW God Calls People to Government because He Called Me

“It wasn’t like lightning in the clouds. It wasn’t, you know, some message. It wasn’t. ‘Dear James, thou shalt run for Congress.’ It wasn’t anything like that. It was this overwhelming sense of this what I had to do.

“And for seven months, I struggled with that because I had no background in politics. I’m not a lawyer. I have no one in my family that’s in politics. I don’t have money personally. I don’t have any of that.

“But it was this over and over and over again: ‘This is what “Follow Me” looks like. You told students for years that the calling of God is to “Follow Me and trust God.” Now it’s your turn. You’ve got to do this.

“And so for seven months, I told God, ‘This is crazy.’ And for seven months, He said, ‘Follow me.’ And so I resigned from my position in September 2009 and announced to my friends I was running for Congress”

MEDIA NOTE: Please email [email protected] to schedule an interview with WaterStone CEO Ken Harrison.

KEN HARRISON is the host of “On the Edge with Ken Harrison,” a podcast building godly people for a better tomorrow. The podcast, available in both audio and video form, can be found on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform, including Apple and Spotify. The podcast also offers listeners the opportunity to receive a challenging weekly devotional that will inspire them to put their faith into action.

Harrison serves as CEO of WaterStone, a Christian Community Foundation whose clients donate over $1 million per week on average to build God’s Kingdom. For nearly 40 years, Waterstone has assisted givers in supporting their favorite charities by crafting customized, innovative giving solutions that empower donors to prioritize income, minimize taxes and optimize giving.

Ken started his career as an LAPD street cop in South Central and then spent nearly two decades in commercial real estate nationally and internationally. After successfully building and growing his company, he sold the majority interest to the second-largest commercial real estate company in the world while continuing as CEO of U.S. valuation and chair of international valuation.

Ken volunteers his time as the chairman of Promise Keepers. His mission is to provide executive leadership and strategic direction to the ministry while inspiring men to be bold, humble and ambitious about their faith.

Ken has been married to his wife, Elliette, for 29 years and they have three children.

Harrison’s newest book, The Rise of the Servant Kings: What the Bible Says About Being a Man, is available wherever books are sold.

Promise Keepers’ Chairman Launches ‘On the Edge with Ken Harrison’ Podcast to Focus on Current Events, Faith, Family, and Fatherhood through a Biblical Lens

October 12, 2020By PK ManagerNews

Ken Harrison’s new podcast features fearless, no-holds-barred conversations from a biblical worldview with the leaders, influencers and changemakers behind today’s news.

COLORADO SPRINGS — Ken Harrison, CEO of WaterStone and volunteer chairman of Promise Keepers, launched his new interview podcast, “On the Edge with Ken Harrison,” Thursday. This weekly podcast features fearless, no-holds-barred conversations from a biblical worldview with the leaders, influencers and changemakers behind today’s news.

Ken Harrison said,

“Our goal with the podcast is to build godly people for a better tomorrow. Yet so many people are bombarded by messages hostile to the Word of God and overwhelmed by the headlines of the day that I knew I had to take action. ‘On the Edge with Ken Harrison’ shines the light of God’s Word on the toughest, timeliest issues relating to current events, faith, family and fatherhood.”

The first two episodes featured Ken Harrison with guests:

Rev. Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, discussing the need for Christians to stand up against the increasing attacks on religious liberty.
David J. Harris, host of the “David J. Harris Jr. Live,” discussing race, athletes kneeling during the national anthem, President Trump’s character, the election, the nation’s identity crisis, the welfare state and Planned Parenthood.

Future podcast guests include:

Senator James Lankford, U.S. senator from Arkansas and Promise Keepers’ board member.
Kelly Shackleford, president and CEO of First Liberty Institute, the largest legal firm in the nation dedicated exclusively to protecting religious freedom for all Americans.
James Robison, founder and president of LIFE Outreach International and host of the daily television program “LIFE Today.”
John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and co-host of “BreakPoint,” the daily cultural commentary founded by the late Chuck Colson.
The Benham brothers, former professional baseball players, bestselling authors, speakers and nationally acclaimed entrepreneurs.
Kevin McGary, President of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of California, a public policy and educational organization.
Chad Hennings, founder of Wingmen Ministries, COO/Partner at Rubicon Representation, and Promise Keepers’ board member.
Victor Marx: a high-risk humanitarian with successful missions helping orphans and widows in non-permissive and high threat environments like Iraq and Southeast Asia.
Steve Berger, pastor of Grace Chapel in suburban Nashville and Promise Keepers’ pastoral advisory board member.
The podcast is sponsored by WaterStone, which assists givers to support their favorite charities by crafting customized, innovative giving solutions that empower donors to prioritize income, minimize taxes and optimize giving.

MEDIA NOTE: Please email [email protected] to schedule an interview with “On the Edge with Ken Harrison” Ken Harrison and any of his guests.

As Divisions Deepen in America, Promise Keepers Calls Christian Men to Action with Two Special Events Designed to Demonstrate the Power of Biblical Unity

October 7, 2020By PK ManagerNews, Promise Keepers Event

“In conjunction with Promise 6 Sunday, Promise Keepers Introduces Its First Roundtable Discussion on Unity with a Who’s Who of Christian Leaders.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Founded in 1990 by former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney, Promise Keepers (PK) is calling men back to courageous and bold servant leadership by sparking a movement that will mobilize millions of men to follow Christ into today’s broken world as changemakers for their families, churches and communities.

Promise Keepers is committed to unifying men in today’s broken world as America endures the burden of division. The sixth promise of a Promise Keeper is to reach beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.

To honor this promise, Promise Keepers is leading two vital initiatives in October.

The first initiative is a recorded roundtable discussion on unity, moderated by Promise Keepers’ chairman Ken Harrison, and featuring some of America’s foremost religious leaders:

● James Lankford, U.S. senator, and Promise Keepers’ board member.

● AR Bernard, spiritual leader of the Christian Cultural Center in New York City and Promise Keepers’ board member.

● Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) and Promise Keepers’ board member.

● Donald Burgs, Jr., president of African American Fellowship of Southern Baptist Convention of Texas; director of International Relations of NBCA, International; executive board member of National American Fellowship and Promise Keepers’ board member.

● Chad Hennings, founder of Wingmen Ministries, COO/Partner at Rubicon Representation, and Promise Keepers’ board member.

Ken Harrison explained the strategic significance of the roundtable: “We convened and recorded this roundtable so that pastors and churches could review discuss, and share the roundtable

between Oct. 9 to Oct. 24 to motivate them to take tangible action toward unity in their own communities, through an event we’re calling ‘Promise 6 Sunday.’”

The second initiative is calling the men of the nation to get involved in Promise 6 Sunday on Oct. 25.

Promise Keepers is calling upon individual men, churches, small groups, and Bible studies to commit to participating in a unity-building activity, such as:

● Meeting up with members of another church for a potluck in a local park or connecting with another family over dinner.

● Committing to volunteer on a community service project with another church, crossing racial or denominational lines

● Trading pulpits for a single Sunday morning with a pastor whose congregation serves a community different from yours.

● Committing to working alongside another church or plan ways to work together in a local ministry/service project.

To learn more about Promise Keeper’s commitment to unity and their October unity events, visit PromiseKeepersEvent.com. To register to participate in Promise 6 Sunday, visit https://PromiseKeepersEvent.com/register-for-promise-6-sunday/.

ABOUT PROMISE KEEPERS

Founded in 1990 by Coach Bill McCartney, Promise Keepers is one of the most significant movements of God in the history of the church. In 1997 alone, Promise Keepers packed 22 NFL stadiums and gathered 1 million men for Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men at the National Mall in the District of Columbia.

On July 16-17, 2021, 80,000 men are expected to gather from across America and around the world at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys, for its annual stadium event.

The organization’s mission is to empower men to live out their God-given identity and purpose today and destiny tomorrow by serving their homes, workplaces and communities with integrity and influence.

www.promisekeepers.org
https://www.facebook.com/promisekeepers/
https://www.instagram.com/promise_keepers
https://twitter.com/PromiseKeepers
https://www.youtube.com/user/PromiseKeepers

Devotional: Find Peace Amid Panic

October 2, 2020By PK ManagerDevotional

Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
    Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
    speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
Those who refuse to gossip
    or harm their neighbors
    or speak evil of their friends.
Those who despise flagrant sinners,
    and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
    and keep their promises even when it hurts.
Those who lend money without charging interest,
    and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.

– Psalm 15:1-5

David attracted pressure like a magnet. Most powerful leaders do. He regularly made life-and-death decisions that affected thousands of people. He was surrounded with temptations. Every day was like running the gauntlet. Imagine David in the rush and crush of life, asking, ‘How can I dwell in the serenity of your presence, O God?’” Many men today know they can’t escape life’s pressure, but they can find a calm place in the midst of it.

‘Who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?’ Verses 2-5 give ten specific conditions for living in God’s presence no matter where you are. Any man would do well to memorize this psalm as a reminder of what kind of man feels welcome in God’s holy presence. Note especially that this man ‘keeps his oath even when it hurts…lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.’ (vv.4-5). God entertains the man whose promise stands regardless of what it costs. What does it take for a man to renege on his promises? How generous is a man when there is no pay back? How strongly will a man stand against making money off the innocence of the naive? In the pressure of life, God offers his sanctuary to those who feel at home there because their life is consistent with his holiness. ‘He who does these things will never be shaken.’

This devotional is an excerpt from the PK Study Bible. For more devotionals and encouraging resources, download the FREE Promise Keepers app. (Download for iOS or for Android.)

Devotional: Diamonds at Your Feet

October 1, 2020By PK ManagerDevotional

As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’

‘Who are you, lord?’ Saul asked.

And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’

The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, ‘Ananias!’

‘Yes, Lord!’ he replied.

The Lord said, ‘Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.'”

– Acts 9:3-11

Russell H. Conwell, in a speech entitled, ‘Acres of Diamonds,’ told a story about a Persian farmer named Al Hafed whose ambition reached far beyond the plot of ground he tilled. Although this farmer possessed a productive plot of land and enjoyed great wealth, he dreamed of owning a diamond mine. So one day, he sold his farm, gathered his belongings, and set off on a worldwide search for diamonds. But the drive and determination with which he began his quest faded over the months and years. Eventually Hafed died–dejected, alone, and penniless–in a far-away land. This one-prosperous farmer had thrown away his life in search of an elusive dream.

As Al Hafed searched for diamonds in foreign countries, a man from Al Hafed’s home territory watered a camel in one of the clear pools on his property. In the brightness of the midday sun, he noticed a shimmer in the white sand. What this fortunate man discovered that day turned out to be the backbone of the world’s richest diamond mine, located in the Persian region of Golconda–on the back side of Al Hafed’s old farm.

Like Al Hafed, it’s easy for people to overlook the diamonds that are directly at their feet. And Saul of Tarsus was no exception. Convinced that Jesus was a false Messiah, he rejected the spiritual treasure that Jesus offered. Saul not only refused to consider Jesus’ claims, but he also refused to allow others to look in the right place. He doggedly hunted down Christians and had them thrown in jail. But God had a different plan for Saul. He forced this man to look at the truth. Several points about Saul’s conversion are impressive.

First, after Saul met Jesus, his beliefs about him were radically transformed. He began to see Jesus as the true Messiah, the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. Before his encounter with Jesus Christ, Saul was sincere and moral and deeply religious—and also deeply wrong. In the burst of light that surrounded him, Saul, the religious zealot, learned he was a sinner in need of a Savior.

Second an obscure Jewish believer had the privilege of helping move Saul along the path to faith in Jesus. Ananias was understandably reluctant to meet with Saul. After all, he had heard about this Jewish zealot’s treatment of Christians. But, in obedience to Jesus, Ananias spoke the words that Saul so desperately needed to hear. In a wonderfully symbolic moment, Saul’s blindness was removed and he received the Holy Spirit.

Finally, Saul’s confession of faith in Jesus was immediate and bold. He wasted no time in telling others that he had been looking for spiritual truth in the wrong places. And when he finally recognized the spiritual treasure that Jesus offered, he didn’t horde what he had found. He shared it with others. If you already know Jesus, contemplate the fact that you’re surrounded by men who are looking for life in the wrong places. Also realize that you are the keeper of an immense spiritual treasure that grows when it’s given away. Like Ananias, be available for God to use you to lead others to his Son. If that idea frightens you, that’s okay. But don’t let your fear control you. Go ahead and tell others what God has done for you. Show them the diamonds at their feet. And the same Lord who prepared the way for Ananias to serve him will prepare the way for you.

This devotional is an excerpt from the PK Study Bible. For more devotionals and encouraging resources, download the FREE Promise Keepers app. (Download for iOS or for Android.)