Daniel’s Fast Day 20

I can see a light at the end of the fast!  Lol

Friday I plan to eat a whole Pizza and drink a six pack of Diet Pepsi!  NOT!

If I were to say look at this fast and say what the greatest thing was coming out of it – I would say – a healthier lifestyle with my eating.  I have seen so many improvements since I cut out snacks, sodas, meats, sugar, flour, etc.  Eating more vegetables and drinking mostly water has been very life changing.  I ask for you to pray with me to continue this healthier lifestyle starting Friday.  (I still might eat a few slices of pizza but without meat and on whole wheat dough – lol.

Spiritually (and I think my eating is a spiritual issue) my other takeaway from this fast has been the Lord pressing down on me about unity.  I want to spend more time with my staff and with some key leaders to make sure we are on the same page as we move the church forward.  I want to develop some friendships that will last beyond our working together in the ministry.  I want to find some like minded people and even some people who aren’t like minded but willing to be challenged in their thinking and willing to challenge me in mine.

My prayer as I come to the last days of the Daniel Fast is that I would increase my time with God daily and not take time off because the fast is over.  I want to be the best husband, father, pastor, and friend I can be for Jesus!

Pray for me please!

Daniel’s Fast Day 19

Sunday we preached on Celebrating Jesus – how Christ is the light of the world – how we are too – as we let the light of Christ shine in us, through us, and in spite of us.  Today as I was reading I came across this passage once again.

John 1:1-5 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood  it.

Christ came to the world – the Word becoming flesh.  He is the light that shines in our lives – into the darkness of our lives – the sin.  It is only through our relationship with Him – through His shed blood – that this light can impact us and bring us out of the darkness.

John 14:6 - “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I am working on Sunday’s message – Focus on Repentance – the first sermon in a series called Laser Focus.  It is this light – this Christ – that has come to bring us hope and repentance.

Thank you Lord for your love.

Daniel’s Fast Day 18

The day has started out very slow. Spent most of the morning trying to create a new website for the church – no luck so far. Others are trying now – good luck brothers.

I stayed away from the men’s breakfast Saturday morning because I knew it would be hard to be around Carl’s good cooking and not eat it or look like I wanted to eat it – lol. This passage came to mind:

Matthew 6:16 - When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

I am going to work on my sermon some this afternoon and I will post more later.

I worked a lot today on a new website for the church – from WordPress.  It should be really nice.

I have done well today with the fast.  I still want a Diet Pepsi, but food is not being an issue.

God has given me a peace – day 18!  Thank you Jesus!

My prayer life is growing and I have had several people on my heart.  I love spending time with Jesus.

Daniel’s Fast Day 17

Day 17 – only 4 more days.  I just finished my lunch – a bowl of beans and a salad – and surprisingly I feel like I had plenty.  I would love to top it off with a diet soda though – lol.

Worship today was awesome.  I really felt like God was present and was leading the whole service.  I pray the word I shared touched someone’s heart.  It certainly was from the Lord.  Those who were at 8:45 heard Babette’s testimony and know the power of God from that sharing.

This afternoon the following passage came to mind.

Luke 9:23-27 – 23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

It followed right on the heals of today’s message about celebrating Jesus – about commending God to the next generation.  It really touched my heart – for sure.  I hope it touched yours.

I would love to hear from some of you who went through the fast last week.  What has or is the Lord telling you?

Daniel’s Fast Day 16

Day 16 began very early – at 5:30 am I was at my desk working on Sunday’s sermon. It isn’t flowing very well and I would appreciate your prayers.

Most of the things we do are in light of something. We are a product of our environment by-in-large. What has happened in our life helps to shape us. For the good or bad. We are not slaves to what has happened in the past. We can rebuke the bad and strive to live in the light of Christ. God can forgive the sins of our youth, the sins of the past, and by His grace we can move forward in Christ.

When a message doesn’t flow, some times I think it is because I have something blocking God from speaking to my heart. So I have spent some time this morning confessing and repenting of my sins. Someone prayed for me this week – that a yoke sin or burden would be removed from around my neck – and I have been praying the same thing.

The fast seems natural now, I have less than a week left in my 21 day fast. There is still the occasional urge for a Diet Pepsi, a ham sandwich on rye, or a bowl of ice cream (any flavor). One of my prayer during the fast is that this will be a new way of eating even after the fast – with a shrunken stomach that requires less to satisfy it. My weight was one of my sins – a miss use of the temple of God. I pray that I have a gained spiritual control over the physical hunger and sinfulness that reigned before this fast.

Last night I shared with the congregation gathered that unity has been my key thought through the fast. Yet I believe God has so much more for me/us. It might be that after I have shown spiritual control over some physical aspects of my life, God will speak.

In Isaiah 58, the prophet writes about fasting. He gives a how not to and a how to and after he has taught about fasting he writes these words:

Isaiah 58:9a – Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

The implication I get from this passage – in its context – is that after the fast, after showing our love for God by showing spiritual control over the physical in our lives, God will speak with us. Then is a word that means after what is before – then. So I look forward to the weeks and months after the 21 day fast for God to continue to speak to me and to Mt. Oak now that our week long fast is over.

Listen to God and share what He tells you!
NIV

Daniel’s Fast Day 15

Today is day 15 for my Daniel Fast and day last for those who have been on a fast for the week at church. Tonight is a celebration of what God has done in our lives so I hope you plan to be there!

Numbers don’t mean a lot to some people but – for those who like them – since January 1 I am down 14 pounds on the Daniel Fast – not why I did it but a nice side note. Down 24 since last fall. Carolyn is so excited she wants me to stay on the fast till Easter. Jaclyn till her wedding in June – lol.

Unity and the family continue to be in my prayers. Today I was thinking about the paid staff and the lay leadership teams at Mt. Oak. How can we be more excited and committed to Christ? How can we be more of one accord as the sisters and brothers at Pentecost? How can we – collectively – reach the community for Christ in a more effective manner? What would draw us together?

1 Peter 3:8-12 – 8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,”Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

See you tonight at the celebration as the churchwide fast ends!

Daniel’s Fast Day 14

Today my prayers stayed with unity but centered on the family – specifically the marriages in our church. Years ago I taught a Marriage Enrichment Group. This was a group where I would present certain teachings about marriage and a group discussion would ensue. It was very helpful. In 30 plus years as a pastor I have worked with couples from pre-marriage counseling to post marriage counseling and everything in between. Some would be surprised at the similarities of concerns many couples face. Attending a group where marriage joys and concerns are discussed – short term – can be very eye opening. I offer such a group if there are any interested couples. This is not a group for couples with only issues. It is for health to troubled marriages and everything in between. It can be beneficial for all.

In focusing on unity I realize that what impacts our society the most, in my humble opinion, is the destruction of the family. Our society has labeled marriage and the family as discardable. If at first you don’t succeed, society says, don’t be surprised, try again and again and again.

Mt. Oak is very pro-family – which includes singles, couples, couples with children, singles with children, and more. I am not trying to define what a family is – rather I am suggesting that we spend more time and focus on keeping the family together.

I am convinced that Satan would like nothing more than to destroy the family and promote our sinful, carnal, nature – to satisfy self at all costs. Pray with me for ways we can strengthen the family at Mt. Oak.

I would like offer a short term – 3-6 week group. Is anyone interested? We would limit it to 4-6 couples and offer it over and over again if the demand called for it. Pray with me. If the demand is great, we will work with people’s schedules.

Every marriage could be strengthened by sharing with a group like this.

Daniel’s Fast Day 13

Today has been the best day yet – not sure why. Maybe God is at work – you think?

I was late to prayer time this morning because I wanted to pray with my daughter before she went for her wisdom teeth surgery – I didn’t want to wake her so I waited till she woke. After that I went into the church and those who were there this morning came and prayed for me. That was awesome.

I was able to work out strong this morning at the gym – 55 minutes on the ellipitical – was only planning on 30 minutes but the movie was good and I felt strong. I showered and went to work. I have had good focus all day. My health coach (from my insurance company) called mid-day and encouraged me to stay strong and answered some medical concerns. I stayed focused all day – first time in some time.

As I was praying this morning – unity was still the subject that came to mind. Unity in the staff, in the leadership, in the congregation. We need a joint focus – maybe that has been my reason for having focus issues – to realize that you cannot accomplish much when you are not focused.

Lazar Focus is the title of the next sermon series. Since focus has been my issue during this fast – I thought maybe we should preach a series about what is it we should be focused on as Christians and a congregation.

At this time the series includes sermon titles:
–Focus on Repentance
–Focus on God
–Focus on Jesus’ Love
–Focus on Hearing God
–Focus on Serving God
–Focus on Celebrating Jesus
–Focus on Being the Church

It starts January 24.

Word of Encouragement

Just a quick word of encouragement this morning – if you tried to fast and your fast didn’t go well – do not let Satan beat you up and say you were a failure. If fasting is new to you or you have medical issues that impacted your fast – don’t let Satan beat you up. You have one of a few choices if you broke your fast since Sunday. You can get back on the fast for the rest of the week. You can continue to pray, even through the fast is broken. Or you can give up and say that Satan won. I do not like that last one! So either get back on the fast and pray or allow the fast to pass and continue to pray. God is not through with you yet my friend. Be encouraged and remember, I warned you that if you took a step out of your comfort zone Satan would attack you – confess, repent, and move deeper in Jesus and rebuke Satan at every wave (turn). Praise God.

Daniel’s Fast Day 12 Part II

I’m sitting in the Food Court at the Bowie Town Center – trying to find my focus! I’m praying and reading the Bible, feeding my spirit (after some vegetables and water to feed the body).

As I was reading I opened to a favorite book – the Book of James – Christ’s brother. I came across that famous passage at the beginning of that book.

James 1:2-4 – ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

That is what I seek after – to not lack anything. I want all that God has for me – all that He has planned for me – I want to avail myself to God so that God may do all that God plans in me. I do not want to resist in anyway – I do not want to put up a barrier of any kind.

In order to lack nothing, I persevere. It is through the testing of my faith that perseverance comes – so I celebrate the trials that come my way today – knowing that as God carries me through them, I will be that much closer to perseverance which leads to lacking nothing!

Are you having a rough day? Are you having a hard time staying on task? Are you facing a loss of work or a deadline that seems hard to meet? Are you facing a troublesome marriage or child? Are you dealing with health issues? Are you facing the death of a loved one? Does life seem unfair to you at the moment? If these or anything like these – know that God can carry you through this time and as you arrive on the other side – you will be that much closer to lacking nothing! Celebrate what God is doing and going to do in you, even if it is a tough place to be right now.

James 1:2-4 – ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

God, keep me focused on Your plan – Your will for me today.