In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, Repent

for the kingdom of heaven is near.(Matthew 3:1-2)

From that time on Jesus began to preach, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.
(Matthew 4:17)

Knee Mail The First Message

Karen is a ninth grade English teacher at Summit High School, an inner city school in Denver, Colorado. She ends each day in
her classroom by taking five to ten minutes to sit in silence and write in her classroom spiritual journal. One day as she sat in silence
she felt the Lord asking her, What did John the Baptist and my Son, Jesus, first preach? That is what is missing in the harvest field of
education. There is a firestorm of hidden sin burning in your profession. Someone has to start a backfire of my Spirit to contain it. That
person is you. I will show you how.
On hearing these words the floodgates of Karens heart burst and she began to weep uncontrollably, as the dam holding back
the stress in her job broke. When she got home she found her Bible, journal, and pen and went outside to be alone with God on the
deck of her home which overlooked a magnificent view of the distant mountains. She realized she would not be grading any papers
tonight. She had more pressing business, her Fathers business. Karen opened her Bible to discover the first thing John the Baptist
and Jesus had preached. She was on a mission. In Matthew 3:2 she found that John the Baptists first recorded words were, Repent
for the kingdom of heaven is near. In Matthew 4:17 the first recorded preaching of Jesus was, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is
near. She had never realized their first messages were identical. Karen then looked up the word repent and found its meaning: to
turn from sin and resolve to reform ones life.
Karen, as prompted by the Holy Spirit within her, began writing down a prayer of repentance addressing what she believed
were the top seven sins in the education profession, those things which were making her yoke and burden heavier each year.
Dear Lord,
We repent for our lack of commitment to seek, serve and trust you first in our professional lives in public education. We often first seek
and trust in our knowledge, money, personnel, and the law. We neglect inquiring of you before making professional decisions.
We repent in public education for we rarely acknowledged you and often lean on our own understanding.
We repent for our neglect of prayer both secret prayer and agreement in prayer with others in our professional lives.
We repent for our fear of other staff members, the law, parents, students and test scores.
We repent for our many careless words related to murmuring, complaining, gossip, condemnation, judgment and discouragement.
We repent for our greed our constant desire for more knowledge, higher test scores, more money, more technology, etc.
We repent for our failure to seek and serve the lost in our profession the weakest staff members, students, and parents along with
those that are the farthest from you.
As she wrote this prayer, tears again began to fall upon her paper blotching the ink in places. When she was finished writing
she got on her knees and, in the last bit of fading evening light, read the list out loud and offered it to God. She folded the paper and
placed it in her Bible which she constantly carried with her. Each day for the next seven days, she began the school day in her
classroom with a brief quiet time on her knees behind her desk reading and offering this prayer to God. Each day she felt the burden
and stress of her job lighten. She felt the stress, anxiety, and infection in her soul, that which had been stealing her peace for some
time, being removed. She felt a lightness and joy entering her heart which she had not felt for several years.
Prayer: Lord, lead us to repentance in our professional lives in education. .
Reflections: Have I identified and repented of my professional sins and the sins of those around me in this profession? Should I?
Getting Real: Ask God what you and others are doing wrong in your professional lives. Tell them to God and turn from them. Join
Karen and offer yours and/or her prayer to God every day for seven days while alone in your classroom.
CLASSROOM LIGHTHOUSE SERIES: Fields of Faith in Education (For info or prayer contact ceaihouston@sbcglobal.net.) WEEK 12

FIELDS OF FAITH PRAYER: Lord, build and establish these schools with Your wisdom. Through love and knowledge, fill the students and
staff members with rare and beautiful treasures. Lead the educators to repentance. Use the educators in these schools to feed your
lambs and sheep, to transform wolves into sheep, and to lead youth to their hope and future in You.
College of Biblical Studies and Cranmer Theological House (Houston Area Post-Secondary Schools)
Seguin Elementary and Smith Elementary in Lamar CISD
All Public, Private, and Home Schools in the Fort Bend ISD Area
All Public, Private, and Home Schools in the States of Kentucky and Louisiana
All Public, Private, and Home Schools in the Countries of Costa Rica, Cote dIvoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia