Joel 1:14 (ESV) 14 Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Sometime you fast because you’re called upon to fast. There may be no pressing issue in your life that is driving you to push … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2016
Day 28/40 – Fasting and Breakthroughs
Daniel 9:1-3 (NKJV) In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood… 3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, … Continue reading
Day 27/40 The “Daniel Fast”
Daniel 1:8 (NKJV) But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. One very popular fast that many practice is what is referred … Continue reading
Day 26/40: Christians aren’t the only people who fast
Daniel 6:18 (RSV) 18 Then the king went to his palace, and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Fasting is not strictly a Christian practice. All the major religions practice this spiritual discipline and even nonbelievers fast. But oh the difference for the Christians. We do not … Continue reading
Day 25/40 Everyone will not understand
Psalm 35:11-16 (NIV) 11 Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. 12 They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved. 13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, 14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or … Continue reading
Day 24/40-days: Love yourself just a little longer
Love sees a need and does something about it for as long as it takes. One of the hardest things for most people is to truly and healthily love themselves. Somehow we feel it prideful and unspiritual to admit to loving ourselves. Yet your capacity to love your neighbor is no greater than your capacity … Continue reading
Producing Results
“Producing results is a key outcome of effective leadership.” _John H. Zenger and Joseph Folkman, The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders I get that, just make sure the “results” have to do with God’s calling and destiny upon your life. Remember, using this definition, Hitler qualifies as a very effective leader. Be … Continue reading
Re-calculating…
(Today I close out the week with another good devotional from my wife, Sonja.) Do you remember taking trips when you had to use a map? David would buy a map and plot our course using a yellow marker. Then I would navigate and tell him which highways or interstates to look for. Sometimes I would misread it … Continue reading
Day 21/40-days: You can laugh again
There is no way around it, fasting is tough; it will make you miserable. However, the purpose of fasting is not to keep you miserable. Fasting is about making you better. It is about cleaning away debris from your body, soul, and mind so that the eternal spring of God’s joy can flow freely in … Continue reading
Day 20/40-days: Mid-course adjustments
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that … Continue reading
