The Fruit of the Spirit

How does the Spirit of God manifest itself through us? Often we think that to witness means to speak up in defense of God. This idea can make us very self-conscious. We wonder where and how we can make God the topic of our conversations and how to convince our families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues of God's presence in their lives. But this explicit missionary endeavour often comes from an insecure heart and, therefore, easily creates divisions.

The way God's Spirit manifests itself most convincingly is through its fruits: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22). These fruits speak for themselves. It is therefore always better to raise the question "How can I grow in the Spirit?" than the question "How can I make others believe in the Spirit?"

C.S. Lewis on the Church

The church exists for nothing else but to draw men
into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are
not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions,
sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of
time. God became a Man for no other purpose.
— C. S. Lewis

Emptiness & Fullness

Emptiness and fullness at first seem complete opposites. But in the spiritual life they are not. In the spiritual life we find the fulfillment of our deepest desires by becoming empty for God.

We must empty the cups of our lives completely to be able to receive the fullness of life from God. Jesus lived this on the cross. The moment of complete emptiness and complete fullness become the same. When he had given all away to his Abba, his dear Father, he cried out, "It is fulfilled" (John 19:30). He who was lifted up on the cross was also lifted into the resurrection. He who had emptied and humbled himself was raised up and "given the name above all other names" (see Philippians 2:7-9). Let us keep listening to Jesus' question: "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" (Matthew 20:22).

Maturing In Christ

A definition of a mature Christian is lacking. Best to say that you know a mature Christian when you see one. They're in the New Testament. Barnabas is one. Aquila and Priscilla are others. Onesiphorous impresses me. And so is the mother of Rufus of whom Paul said, "she has been a mother to me." That's a short list.

Let’s take a look at the marks of maturity. 1) Self-sustaining in spiritual devotions. 2) Wise in human relationships. 3) Humble and serving. 4) Comfortable and functional in the everyday world where people of faith can be in short supply. 5) Substantial in conversation. 6) Prudent in acquisition. 7) Respectful in conflict. 8) Faithful in commitments.

Take a few minutes and ask how many people you know who would fit such a description. How many? Apparently, Paul pondered the question when he thought about Corinthian Christians and said, "I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ."

Five Statements Worth Remembering as a Leader

1. Whatever you do, do more with others and less alone.
   It will help you become accountable.
2. Whenever you do it, emphasize quality not quantity.
3. Wherever you go, do it the same as if you were among those who know you the best.
   It will keep you from exaggerating. it will help keep your stories true. Your good friend will tell you things that others will not. They will hold you close to truth.
4. Whoever may respond to your ministry, keep a level head.
5. However long you lead, keep on dripping with gratitude and grace.
   Stay thankful. Stay gracious.

Church Swindoll " 10 Things I've Learned In Ministry"

1. It’s lonely to lead.
   Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decisions, the lonelier it is.
2. It’s dangerous to succeed.
   It is dangerous to succeed while being young. rarely, does God give leadership that young because it takes crushing and failure first.
3. It’s hardest at home.
   Nobody at home is applauding you. They say, “Dad! You’re fly is open.”
4. It is essential to be real.
   If there is one realm where phoniness is personified it is leadership. What I care about is that you stay real.
5. It is painful to obey.
   There are rewards, yes, but it is painful nevertheless.
6. Brokenness and failure are necessary.
7. My attitude is more important than my actions.
   Some of you are getting hard to be around. And your attitude covers all those great actions you pull off.
8. Integrity eclipses image.
   What you are doing is not a show. And the best things you are doing is not up front but what you do behind the scenes.
9. God’s way is better than my way.
   God is going to have His way.
10. Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility.

This Week with Henri Nouwen

“The Church as the body of Christ has many faces. The Church prays and worships. It speaks words of instruction and healing, cleanses us from our sins, invites us to the table of the Lord, binds us together in a covenant of love, sends us out to minister, anoints us when we are sick or dying, and accompanies us in our search for meaning and our daily need for support. All these faces might not come to us from those we look up to as our leaders. But when we live our lives with a simple trust that Jesus comes to us in our Church, we will see the Church’s ministry in places and in faces where we least expect it.

If we truly love Jesus, Jesus will send us the people to give us what we most need. And they are our spiritual leaders.” - Henri Nouwen

Words That Become Flesh

Words are important. Without them our actions lose meaning. And without meaning we cannot live. Words can offer perspective, insight, understanding, and vision. Words can bring consolation, comfort, encouragement and hope. Words can take away fear, isolation, shame, and guilt. Words can reconcile, unite, forgive, and heal. Words can bring peace and joy, inner freedom and deep gratitude. Words, in short, can carry love on their wings. A word of love can be the greatest act of love. That is because when our words become flesh in our own lives and the lives of others, we can change the world. Jesus is the word made flesh. In him speaking and acting were one.

Rahab"s Song

In the dirt i used to kneel
idols fixed upon vain hopes
blocks of wood brought down with weight of prayers spilled
but you came and stole my heart
now i pray to ears unstopped
i am watched over by eyes i can't outrun

you are God alone
lesser gods before you scatter
to the winds like sand
for you, the God i love
i lay down my broken idols
following your steps

i can feel upon my skin
that your tears have met with mine
and the earth around me shakes with your resolve
all my hope in you i find
all my heart like water poured
what is one more drop in hands that frame the world?

- Vania Brandley

Going to the Margins

Those who are marginal in the world are central in the Church, and that is how it is supposed to be! Thus we are called as members of the Church to keep going to the margins of our society. The homeless, the starving, parentless children, people with AIDS, our emotionally disturbed brothers and sisters - they require our first attention.
We can trust that when we reach out with all our energy to the margins of our society we will discover that petty disagreements, fruitless debates, and paralyzing rivalries will recede and gradually vanish. The Church will always be renewed when our attention shifts from ourselves to those who need our care. The blessing of Jesus always comes to us through the poor. The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive. They give food to us.

Spiritual Formation

The greatest need you and I have - the greatest need of collective humanity - is the renovation of our heart. That spiritual place within us from which outlook, choices, and actions come has been formed by a world away from God. Now it must be transformed.
The shaping and reshaping of the inner life is, accordingly, a problem that has been around as long as humanity itself; and the earliest records of human thought bear eloquent witness to the human struggle to solve it - but with very limited success, one would have to say... In spiritual matters there really is not a "Third World." It's all Third World.
Spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself... in the degree to which spiritual formation in Christ is successful, the outer life of the individual becomes a natural expression or outflow of the character and teachings of Jesus.

The Bible Contains

The mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. It's doctines are holy, it's precepts are binding, it's histories are true, and it's decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here Paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is it's grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God it's end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
- Unknown

The Canvas

I read this poem yesterday and found it a great source of reflection and great for a personal devotion. Enjoy.
The canvas is blank, it’s right there before me,
I’ve got colors and brushes galore,
And when I stare at the canvas it stares back at me,
Just waiting for me to explore.
But there’s something inside me that brings me great fear,
That won’t allow me to paint or to dream,
‘Cause I worry that the outcome of my strokes over time,
Won’t be as good as the others I’ve seen.
So I stare at the canvas with tears in my eyes,
And I slowly paint one little section,
But the rest of the canvas remains free of life,
Because I only see my imperfection.
So Father, I beg you, as I go through today,
And the next chance to paint I pursue,
I ask you for courage to use all these brushes,
As I color the canvas for you.
I have this strange feeling that as the painting ensues,
And the reds, blues, and greens start to splatter,
I’ll come to see that when my eyes are on Jesus,
Comparing my painting won’t matter.
‘Cause at the end of my life, when the painting is finished,
I just know that my Jesus will love it,
‘Cause both the painter and canvas are washed in his blood,
And it’s that grace, not great art, that I covet.
- Anonymous

The Pain of Loving

Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain. The greatest pain comes from leaving. When the child leaves home, when the husband or wife leaves for a long period of time or for good, when the beloved friend departs to another country or dies ... the pain of the leaving can tear us apart.
Still, if we want to avoid the suffering of leaving, we will never experience the joy of loving. And love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair. We have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking.

Reflections on Psalm 139 pt.2 (God accompanies us everywhere)

While the first six verses of this Psalm focuses on: God Knows All About Me, the second set of six verses focuses on: God Accompanies Us Everywhere. Not only does He know us intimately, but is is present no matter where we happen to be. Listen to how David puts it.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
John Ortberg talks about this guy by the name of Nicholas Herman who worked in the food industry as a short order cook and bottle-washer. He became deeply dissatisfied with his life; he worried chronically about himself, even whether or not he was a Christian.
One day Nick was looking at a tree, and it struck him, the secret of the life of a tree is that it remains rooted in something other and deeper than itself. He decided to make his life an experiment in what he called a “habitual, silent, secret conversation of the soul with God.”
He is known today by the new name given to him by his friends: Brother Lawrence. He remained obscure throughout his life. He never got voted pope. He never got close to becoming the CEO of his organization. He stayed in the kitchen. But the people around him found that rivers of living water flowed out of him that made them want to know God the way he did. They said about him, “The good brother found God everywhere.” One of them wrote, he found God “as much as while he was repairing shoes as while he was praying with the community.”
After Lawrence died, his friends put together a book of his letters and conversations. It is called Practicing the Presence of God and is thought, apart from the Bible, to be the most widely read book of the last four centuries. This monastic short-order cook has probably out-sold novelist John Grisham and Tom Clancy and J.K. Rowling put together.
Hildebert of Lavardin who lived in the 11th century wrote, “God is over all things, under all things, outside all; within but not enclosed; without but not excluded; above but not raised up; below but not depressed; wholly above, presiding, wholly beneath, sustaining; wholly without, embracing, wholly within filling.”
So because God is present no matter where we are, when I am lonely, God is my companion, when I’m feeling inadequate, God is my confidence. When I’m tempted, God is my counselor and when I’m discouraged, God is my comforter, if I learn to be more attentive to His presence.
There are many ways to be more attentive to His presence, one is to simply be still and know He is God by taking times in silence and solitude. Blasé Pascal said, most of man’s problems come from his inability to sit still. So take some time just to be quit, to sit in silence.
This practice involves meeting God in the events of life. St. Ignatius had a five step process that one author broke down into just three simple steps: Stop, look and listen.
STOP
Stopping is simply taking the time to slow down. We all often go as such a fast past and I think we just need to take a deep breath, and sit before God. Just steep ourselves in God reality. Sometimes simply breathing helps. But to stop is simple to put ourselves before God, remove ourselves from any distractions.
LOOK
Then we want to look. We want to take a look at the last week or the last twenty-four hours. Look at God’s initiative, his provisions. We often miss what God is doing. C.S. Lewis says, God is often incognito. So you take some time to look at what God is doing around you.
LISTEN
After taking a five minutes or so to look at your life, and examine what God is doing, I start listen. I try to sense what the Spirit has to say to me. Sometimes I feel a slight nudging of the Spirit, other times I feel as if the Spirit brings a verse or passage to my mind, sometimes it is something strong. But after taking a period of time where I stop, and then look at my life, I take some time to listen. Stop, Look and Listen.
This is an extremely rich resource for spending time with God and enabling us discern His presence in our daily experience. As one person has stated, “Life keeps happening. Changing situations – some desirable and others definitely less so – provide important opportunities to better know both God and our self. Each gives us a chance to examine where God is in that experience and what gifts God is offering for our growth.
What this exercise helps me to is to meet God in the concrete circumstances of life. I like how Paul Stevens puts it, “If God has come in the flesh, and if God keeps coming to us in our fleshly existence, then all of life is shot through with meaning. Earth is crammed with heaven. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is lost. Nothing secular. Nothing absurd… All are grist for the mill of a down-to-earth spirituality.
You see, the omnipresent God whose name is Immanuel is not distant but nearer to us than we can imagine. God is not alien to the circumstances of our lives, but comes to us in them. Our challenge is to unmask the Divine in the natural and name the presence of God in our lives.

Reflections on Psalm 139 (God knows all about me)

Here are some reflections on Psalm 139. As you start meditating on Psalm 139 you begin to realize that verses 1-18 tell us about who God is. These verses are divided into three sections of six verses each that correspond to three classical attributes of God, His Omniscient Knowledge of us, His Omnipresent Hope and His Omnipotent Love. As we read the first six verses, let's see how David recognized how God intimately knew him, and as you read think about how intimately God knows you and consider what that might mean for your life.

GOD KNOWS ALL ABOUT ME
You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain. (Psalm 139:1-6)
Look at how these first six verses demonstrate how God knows us intimately, God knows us inside out, through and through. Everything I do, every thought that goes through my mind, every step I take, every plan I make, every word I speak, He knows them before they ever happen. God knows what is behind me and before me. How does that make you feel, the fact that God knows every aspect of your life?
Well, the fact that God knows everything about me and about you can either be a very comforting thought, or a very disturbing thought or both at the same time.
I’m reminded of a story where these children are all lined up in the cafeteria of a religious school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The teacher made a note: “Take only one, God is watching.” At the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A boy wrote a note: “Take all you want, God is watching the apples.”
Think about it, God knows all of my faults and my failures, but he also knows all of my feelings and frustrations as well as my future and my faithfulness. So because God knows us so intimately, we can talk to him about anything. Jesus says that the very hairs on your head are numbered, so there is nothing too small and nothing too large that you can’t talk to God about. Are you worried about something? God knows what you are worried about and why you are worried about it. So give him your worries.
Do you stay up at night thinking about your faults and your failures? God does know all of them, but if you come to him and ask Him to forgive you and help you walk with Him, He is quick to forgive. You don’t need to carry your guilt with you. Guilt just weighs you down, it sinks deep into your being and even effects your health, which is why James tells us that if we want to find healing, that we also need to confess our sins to one another, for it is a sure way to get relief from guilt.
Are you feeling frustrated and you feel that nobody knows what you are going through? Listen, God knows. He is aware of every tear you have shed, every heartache that you feel. Ps. 56:6 says, “You know how troubled I am, you have kept a record of my tears.” Listen; there is no hurt that goes unnoticed by God. He sees it all. Often when we are hurting, we feel very isolated, we feel very lonely. Maybe you have gone through a death in the family, maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend just broke up with you, or maybe you have had a difficult time finding a mate. Maybe you are having an incredibly difficult time at work, or you are facing tremendous financial difficulties, maybe you have an incurable sickness and when we do we feel all alone and we think NOBODY UNDERSTANDS THE WAY I FEEL, NOBODY CAN TELL HOW I FEEL, NOBODY FEELS THE PAIN. But God knows. And he understands my hurts, my feelings and frustrations

The Rich Young Ruler and the Modern Christian

In order to answer the question, “does the command that Jesus gave to the rich young ruler, ‘sell everything you have and give it to the poor’, apply to us today?” we must understand the context in which his command is given. I intend to explore Mark 10:17-31 and discover the relevance of Jesus’ command to the rich young man.
 We must take into account that Mark sets the stage for this story with Jesus calling for the children and telling all who could hear, “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter into it.” Children in that day were not highly valued: infant mortality rate was high, children couldn’t work the fields and were an extra mouth to feed, were not required to obey the commandments of God and were thought of as unrighteous. They have nothing to offer, they are the least, last, most undeserving examples Christ could have used, but he did it with intent. Kids ask on no merit of their own (I deserve this) they must receive solely on the grace of one greater than themselves granting them their request. Everything is a gift (freely given) to them and Christ is saying this is the way in to the kingdom. 

Enters the rich young ruler. He comes with a profound question, “good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Jesus obviously senses that the question of the man’s lips is not the question of his heart.” (Edwards, 309) So Jesus begins to dig deeper, through the superficiality to the core. “Why do you call me good, no one is good except for God alone?” Jesus is saying if you see me as just a Rabbi (teacher), a mere man, and you call me “good”, you must believe that you being a man can be good, and moreover, good enough to the kingdom as you are. After further boasting from the young man on his ability to keep the law, Jesus asks him to sell all he has and give it to the poor. The man knows he can’t do this and walks away sad. The idea here is Jesus requires all of us no half-hearted commitments. This man thought, in his heart, he was good enough all by himself to enter in. He must have thought Jesus would praise him for how “good” he is and make him the example for all to see and follow. But the truth is Jesus is the example for all of us to follow and the only way into the kingdom is by no merit of our own, just as the little children, but through complete trust in Jesus. Evidently this was to much for the young man.
 It wasn’t the money; it was the placement of trust. This man obviously trusted more in his possessions than he did in Christ. If we are going to inherit eternal life we must sell out to our own ability to provide for ourselves a way of goodness and completely fall on the mercies of God. “To the question what the man must do to inherit life in the future, Jesus directs him to the present. He must do something now. His full adherence to the moral law, good and necessary as it is, is no substitute fro following Jesus…In following Jesus the man “will have treasure in heaven” (v. 21). Jesus offers himself as a substitute for the man’s possessions.” (Edwards 312)

Jesus looks to his disciples and asks them, “How hard is it for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God?” He tells them it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle then for a rich man (one consumed with earthly possessions) to enter the kingdom of God. R. Alan Cole says, “There does not seem to be any good early evidence for the view that the phrase eye of a needle means a postern-gate in the city wall, with a consequent need for the camel to kneel and be unloaded if it is to be pushed through. The ninth century AD is the earliest reference that Shcweizer can find for this interpretation: it therefore reads like a pious late fabrication. It is better to see the metaphor as one of sheer impossibility.” (Cole 237-238) Cole is suggesting that the disciples, the first century reader, and the modern Christian all hear this as an impossible task. Christ is making an emphatic declaration that it is impossible to think you can be good enough to enter the kingdom or rich enough to buy eternal life with God. It is in no way by our own merit, it is purely by the grace and goodness of God.

For the modern Christians, we must understand that this command of Jesus is not at all about the money, but rather it is completely about the heart and perception of our own worth and goodness. It will be impossible for us to inherit eternal life if we are not willing to give complete control and absolute trust of our present lives over to the reign of Christ and follow him no matter what the cost. If we are not willing to do this, we will have no part with him.

Edwards, James R. "The Gospel According to Mark", TPNTC. 2002
Cole, R. Allen. "Mark", The Tyndale New Test. Comm.", 1st ed. 1961

The Canvas

I read this poem yesterday and found it a great source of reflection and great for a personal devotion. Enjoy.

The canvas is blank, it’s right there before me,
I’ve got colors and brushes galore,
And when I stare at the canvas it stares back at me,
Just waiting for me to explore.

But there’s something inside me that brings me great fear,
That won’t allow me to paint or to dream,
‘Cause I worry that the outcome of my strokes over time,
Won’t be as good as the others I’ve seen.

So I stare at the canvas with tears in my eyes,
And I slowly paint one little section,
But the rest of the canvas remains free of life,
Because I only see my imperfection.

So Father, I beg you, as I go through today,
And the next chance to paint I pursue,
I ask you for courage to use all these brushes,
As I color the canvas for you.

I have this strange feeling that as the painting ensues,
And the reds, blues, and greens start to splatter,
I’ll come to see that when my eyes are on Jesus,
Comparing my painting won’t matter.

‘Cause at the end of my life, when the painting is finished,
I just know that my Jesus will love it,
‘Cause both the painter and canvas are washed in his blood,
And it’s that grace, not great art, that I covet.

- Anonymous

Choose the Blessing

It is an ongoing temptation to think of ourselves as living under a curse. The loss of a friend, an illness, an accident, a natural disaster, a war, or any failure can make us quickly think that we are no good and are being punished. This temptation to think of our lives as full of curses is even greater when all the media present us day after day with stories about human misery.
Jesus came to bless us, not to curse us. But we must choose to receive that blessing and hand it on to others. Blessings and curses are always placed in front of us. We are free to choose. God says, Choose the blessings!

I Bless You

God has been impressing upon me today to guard my tongue, letting no corrupt communication come out of my mouth. The word of the Lord is burning in me today, 'with our words we have the power to strike down (death) or raise up (life). Let us speak life over everything and everyone that comes our way during this consecration. Get in the habit of "blessing" people. Speak prophetic declarations over things, situations, and people. Declare the blessing of the Lord over them. I bless you in Jesus Name.

Holy Hunger

Today has been a marvelous day. So many in our church community have called me with tremendous reports and testimonies of how God has been showing up in their day. My heart is overwhelmed with a hunger for HIs Glory. Col. 1:27 says, "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which* is Christ in you, the hope of glory." When we grow hungry for a deeper connection to Christ we come into contact with the deep river of glory that offers us hope. Pray for the glory of God to blow up (in a good way) in us.

Watch Daily Videos on Fasting with Jentezen Franklin

Click on the link below and watch a daily video of encouragement from Pastor Jentezen Franklin. Listen and be encouraged...apply and be changed:

http://www.jentezenfranklin.org/fasting/dailyvideos.php

FOOD GUIDELINES FOR A DANIEL FAST

Foods You May Eat:

Whole Grains:
Brown Rice, Oats, Barley

Legumes:
Dried Beans, Pinto Beans, Split Peas, Lentils, Black Eyed Peas

Fruits:
Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries, Cantaloupe, Cherries, Cranberries, Oats, Figs, Grapefruit, Grapes, Guava, Honeydew Melon, Kiwi, Lemons, Limes, Mangoes, Nectarines, Papayas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapples, Plums, Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangelos, Tangerines, Watermelon

Vegetables:
Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chili Peppers, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Gingerroot, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Onions, Parsley, Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabagas, Scallions, Spinach, Sprouts, Squashes, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini, veggie burgers are an option if you not allergic to soy.

Liquids:
Spring Water, Distilled Water, 100% All-Natural Fruit Juices, 100% All Natural Vegetable Juices. You may also drink protein drinks.

Others:
Seeds, Nuts, Sprouts


Foods to Avoid:

Meat
White Rice
Fried Foods
Caffeine
Carbonated Beverages
Foods Containing Preservatives or Additives
Refined Sugar
Sugar Substitutes
White Flour and All Products Using It
Margarine, Shortening, High Fat Products

FASTING FOCUS

1 TIMOTHY 2:1-2
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

ROMANS 12:1
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service."

MATTHEW 6:33
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

ISAIAH 58:6
"[Is] not this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?"

We want to encourage you to target your prayers during the fast. Two specific areas we will be focusing on together are leadership and finances. The Bible instructs us to continually pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2). When we lift up our leaders, here in the United States and around the world, we can expect God's peace in our lives and in our nation.

Another great promise, from the book of Isaiah, proclaims that the chosen fast will "undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free." We are living in tough economic times and we know that so many people are under a financial burden. As we come together to fast and pray, we believe that your burdens will be lifted and that financial blessings will be released into your life!

We encourage you to seek the Lord in prayer and let your decisions about your fast come from Him. Ask the Lord to show you areas to target during your time of fasting and prayer. We believe that, as we pray and seek God and give Him our best at the first of the year, He will bless our ENTIRE year (Matthew 6:33)!