An excerpt from Pastor Richard’s prayer on periscope on New Year’s Eve. Happy New Year!
Everything is going beautifully for our family, and we pray that everything is going beautifully for yours. My heart cries out in joy for what the Lord is doing!
Here we are in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Wow! What a beautiful way to welcome the new year.  We thank God for St. Peter. He was the rock the church was built upon.
Lord, we thank You for this new year, for the joy that You’re bringing to all of us. We ask for Your presence to be with us. Lord, I want to seek Your face. We want to enter into Your glorious ways. We’re asking you to be with us.  We enter into Your wonderful presence.
Keep us in Your beautiful way, Your blessing upon this new year. We want to walk in Your power, into Your glory. We don’t want to calculate our own ways, or our own desires.
We see His mighty hand in all that He does. The church bells are ringing. Only because of Your great mercy, are we not consumed. We praise You Jesus! My life is 100% dependent upon You, God. We love You, Jesus. How holy You are.  How wonderful it is to praise You God!
I pray that everyone of us will come into that perfect union with the Holy Spirt. I pray for that perfect syncronization.  You are bringing a new day for everyone.  We are coming into 2018 with new compassion and new mercies every morning.  We want to stand on what You say. In 2018 we will stand on what the Lord has said, and only what the Lord has said. We want to hear Your voice!
Every single decision we face, we must stand totally upon the Lord’s word. The Lord gave me Deuteronmy 32 for the new year.  Moses said,  “For their Rock is not our Rock”. This song of Moses is so powerful. His vengence is not just anger ~ it’s recompence and reward for you and your family. God is looking at you and He is honoring you in this new year. This is the year when everything you have believed God for is going to come to pass. This is the year of God’s greatness. We’re entering into a new day, a new year!

Here is the simple word for the new year: 2018 is the year to plant. Plant what God’s word is in your life. In the Bible Jesus talks about how a sower went out to sow some seed. He talks about the different types of ground. Most of the ground on a farm is good soil. The rocky, bad types of ground are only on the edges of the farm.  When you talk to people in the center of God’s will, living Godly lives, they are good ground ~ with good jobs, good families, good schools. We want to be good ground!
This is the year where great things are going to be planted, great accomplishments, great things.  I’m asking you this year to make a covenant to pray every day. This is the year to plant deep roots.  The seed is His word. It’s not money; it is the word of God. God is doing the same with you. When God gives you dreams and visions, you can’t make the word of God twist into what you want it to be. He wants you to come into His perfect will. God’s ways are going to be different than your ways.
God, guide us now into that perfect direction. We ask You, Lord,  show us how to move into Your perfect ways. Show us Your greatness in this new year. We’re walking into  2018 clean. Lord, it is Your blood that is making us clean.  Let the whole earth be washed clean by Your blood. Bring us into that purity, a purity only Your blood can bring.
God does not speak to us for tomorrow; He speaks to us for today, to be completely obedient to just His perfect will.  On new year’s day, we are waking up to a fresh new season in 2018!

Sometimes I’m amazed to discover how precious and great a gift is when it costs absolutely nothing. By this I am referring to my family’s presence. Today I heard the soft voice of my wife, Sandy, caressing my heart with her kindness.  Then Rocki and Misty came into the living room where we were staying, and Sunny joined them.  We all shared another precious story about God‘s miracles that He is doing in Europe and America daily.

As our family is traveling through the great cities of Europe, we can’t help but noticing the wonderfully overwhelming celebration of Christmas! This celebration is so complete; there are decorations literally on everything from the biggest shopping mall to the smallest mom and pop store. At the same time, it makes strong declarations to the foundational rock on Christ Jesus, that Europe has sustained for over 2000 years.

Nearly two years ago the Lord gave me the instruction in a vision ~ of the earth being covered with the love of God. He told me, through the Prophet Timothy Snodgrass, “Do not pray about your own situation, but instead pray for America and God’s concern for the world.” I am sure that those of you who are leaders understand my “situation” includes strong ties to the city of San Francisco, and how hard this has been for me to pray for the world ~ while every day I just want to intercede for our beautiful city of San Francisco.

But I know I can’t. Another reason is that, “no flesh (Richard’s ego) should ever glory in His presence”. Especially this week, with the news of our city constantly all over Europe, I realize God‘s instructions are made clear in the third and fourth chapters of Hebrews, when He tells us to rest in Him and not to be like Israel in the provocation in the wilderness.

I have seen such a strong foundation in Jesus throughout Europe. Even though national leaders and the news media present a vision of Europe as being godless, I see the strong and immovable foundations of this continent are extremely firm in their belief and trust in Jesus Christ.

Suddenly it hit me. That’s what God is causing to happen in San Francisco! All of you are His strong foundation. You are “Peter the Rock” that He will build His church on. You who are praying daily are the strong foundation that will make San Francisco a strong Renaissance city. Remember, the word renaissance means: 1. a renewal of life, vigor, interest; 2. rebirth; 3. revival. Another dictionary put it this way: for all of society to be born again.

The woman:
“Then you must protect me from the foxes,
Foxes on the prowl,
Foxes who would like nothing better
Than to get into our flowering garden”
Song of Songs 2:15

To all of us, who have been called to the mission of intercession during these troubling times, the Lord has made it very clear that we are not to participate in the conflict that sometimes is happening before us ~ maybe even in our own families. Instead, we are called to be the victors healing the wounded, and the repairers of the broken breaches. To understand this position in Jesus, you must understand the Scriptures in Hebrews, the third and fourth chapters, regarding Paul’s teaching about “resting in Christ.” I will speak about this in more detail next week, but now let’s look at the warning concerning the foxes.
When God’s blessings come with great abundance, most of us are prone to let down our protection system because we are so blessed. We are initially set on loving and accepting everyone. This is why, in the Songs of Solomon, the woman asks the prince to protect her from the foxes that try to act as if they are helpers. In reality, they desire to devour you and every blessing you’ve been given.
Every time I have met someone new that would have a dangerous effect upon my life, God has always warned me in a small way. Usually it’s when I first mention the name of Jesus, or maybe it’s just something to do with His presence ~ that I see who they really are and what they will be in the future ~ simply by their response to that wonderful name. Didn’t Jesus say in John 10:7, “I am the door of the sheep”?
I must remind you that this is not something you can just do by memory, or by repeating the same thing each time. You must be led by the total guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern what type of person you are dealing with, and whether you are to connect with them or not!  In today’s news, a powerful editor of a ladies’ magazine shocked her staff because she wore “foxes on her nylons.”  I believe the lady with the foxes on her stockings is a message alerting us intercessors that we need to pray.
I’m asking all of you to pray that editors of ladies’ magazines around the world are not influenced by foxes, but by God’s sheep. Join me every day on Periscope as we pray together. t

The Gazowsky family, from San Francisco, California, has been called by the Lord to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In obedience to this word, they have been led by the wind of the Spirit. They have linked up with other intercessors by the smart phone app “Periscope,” and about 800 intercessors have answered the daily call to prayer.

Their daughter, Rocki Starr, had a dream in 2016: “A beautiful girl sat by a body of water. She wore a wetsuit that was for her protection. The young girl dove into the water and started swimming like a mermaid. The Gazowsky family dove in the water behind her and followed. The Lord revealed that this was Sweden. The young girl noticed that the water was stagnant and was full of crocodiles. But as the family swam and kept following the mermaid, the stagnant waters began to drain away and the crocodiles began to leave. Suddenly the family was at Vello Vaim’s house. He opened his arms wide and said, ‘Welcome!’ to Richard, who said, ‘We can only stay for two days.’”

For over a year the family discussed this dream, wondering what it could mean. Then, while the family was visiting Iceland, the Lord spoke to Richard and said, “Buy a plane ticket that costs under $100 and fly to the nation that it sends you to.” There was only one place that was selling a ticket for under $100 ~ Stockholm, Sweden. Without telling Vello and Ingalill they were coming, the Gazowskys arrived at their house. Vello answered the door, opened his arms wide, and said, “Welcome into my home. I am so glad to see you!” Ingalill also welcomed them with gladness. It was exactly like Rocki had seen in her dream. Now they knew the dream was coming to pass!

That night a group of young people, from the local university in Aldenbug, came to the house for prayer. One of the young ladies, Maral Der, said the Lord spoke to her to give the Gazowskys a tour. The family believed she was the mermaid from the dream, so they planned for their prayer time on Sunday to go wherever the mermaid led them. Cornelia, a Swedish pop musician, said she wanted to go pray too.

On Sunday, the Gazowsky family linked up on their periscope prayer broadcast with 164 intercessors worldwide, and the “mermaid” led them through the Vivalla neighborhood. Here, they heard that the terrorist group Isis was recruiting young men and women. As they drove through the neighborhood praying and interceding (which you can still watch by logging onto Periscope), Richard heard the Lord saying that God was answering their prayers. As they pulled out of the neighborhood he saw the spirit in the murky waters leaving!

At this point Cornelia remembered a dream she’d had a year and a half ago. She said, “I had a dream where I was driving my car through the forest, and suddenly many alligators came out of the forest. I drove my car over the alligators, crushing them!” There they were, both dreams fulfilled, right as they were in the car praying! Wow!

An hour later, the Gazowsky family was sitting in the most beautiful church, listening to wonderful Swedish worship. As the people were praising Jesus, Pastor Richard saw a vision: “In God‘s presence, all of the Swedish people began to grow bigger in the Spirit from within, and they became a very large and mighty people. They turned into sheep. Suddenly, these great sheep began to sheer their own coats and build factories. The sheep took the wool that they had just produced and began to cover the people of the earth with the warm love and hugs from the spiritual coverings they were producing.

“All of this was being done by the sheep. There was no leader but Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. The pastors were rejoicing because they were also being blessed. In the background was a very large whale, that had sharp razor-like dangerous teeth, and it began shrinking away. As the sheep and their factories grew in power and success, the whale (which looked like Leviathan, and had a huge tattoo branded on its back that said “atheist”) just slipped back into the ocean never to be seen again.”

As the exciting adventure continues, you can join up by praying with Pastor Richard Gazowsky on Periscope, every day!

God’s smile in the morning is the warm hug of His presence setting everything in order. At this beautiful starting point everything looks like a grand adventure. To enjoy the excitement of the day we must learn how to think God’s way. Below are a few hints.

Waiting on God is experiencing the joy of patience, and the perfection of high-quality experiences. Remember that waiting is worth it; God always gives you rewards that are more than abundant in their fulfillment. Any task that requires anxiousness or that is done in a hurry is probably not worth doing in the first place.

As you can see, the ways of God are not easy to master because they are so contrary to our normal ways of doing things. Though today’s experience with God will be so wonderful that you want to repeat it ~ He never repeats Himself.

God’s unique way is that He always makes the complex seem simple ~ even childlike. It is God’s straightforward approach to every task that He assigns to you which makes His mystery so wonderful. When I obey God’s tiny whisper suddenly the most complex problem is dealt with, answered, and completed with a bow on it.

This discovery has made my life completely different. Each day I listen for His wonderful voice. Then I do my best to fulfill the task that He has asked me to perform with simplicity and straightforwardness ~ letting my, “Yea be yea and my nay be nay.”

Oh, how beautiful the ways of God are! May you also experience His wonder every day.

My sweet darling wife Sandy is working on a cross stitch, using different pleasantly-colored thread, to create an intricate picture of a home for the celebration of Christmas. Our family is in the prayer pod (our van) going from city to city praying for America. I’ve noticed that sometimes the needlework becomes very tedious for Sandy, as she labors with the sewing needle and thread while we are traveling.

When an entire nation experiences being “born again” it is called a Renaissance. “Born again” so aptly applies because it refers to the re-institution of pure innocence. I have witnessed this phenomenon in my own adult life. The ability to approach certain things with an honest child-like innocence in my mind is probably the most precious spiritual possession that I have.

This innocence of thought can occur to an entire social network that goes beyond national borders. When the phenomenon of the Renaissance occurred in history, it brought about great innovations, discoveries, and launchings of previously unobtainable innovation. The printing press, the discovery of the New World, the telescope, and more opened mankind’s vision of the universe.

The importance of innocence as a foundational basis for the advancement of all human thought and creativity is amazing. You would think that having more knowledge would increase creativity, but it actually blocks it. The foundation of our innocence gives us the ability to hear simple instructions from God. We then receive complex ideas that previously would’ve been considered absurd even in our current advanced state of knowledge.

Having the pure innocence of a child depends upon acquiring child-like thinking: “Since Daddy says it, it’s true!” This in turn becomes the foundation for new discoveries. And, oh how wonderfully creative these new discoveries will be! Father, please make America innocent again…

You might be tempted to doubt whether this could even be done. But this is the miraculous power of prayer. God answers prayer. The purpose of prayer is for God to intervene on our behalf, and do things that you and I are incapable of doing. To change and rid the entire nation of evil seems to be so complex, that at first it appears impossible. Our own attempts to do it, or even consider it, seem absurd.

And of all people, I certainly would not consider it ~ unless it was prophesied by God that it would happen. God, the One who created everything, said He will “present to Himself a church having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing.” In other words, you and I can have nothing to do with it. We must rest from our labors and just give Him permission to “run the washing machines.”

That means cleaning up our hearts, our family’s hearts, the hearts of those at our workplaces, our city’s hearts, our state’s hearts, our nation’s hearts ~ the hearts of the whole world! Such an enormous task is exactly what God has been expecting you and I to ask Him to do since time began. So praise the Lord, grab a cup of tea, sit back and relax ~ and watch God scrub.