Anyboyd Out There?!

Praise the Lord!!!! It's another day that the Lord has made!! I know you are still trusting G-d as I am. I know it's been a few days since I've "blogged", so here's a little something, something.

Here's a question concerning fasting. "Why should we fast?" Here are nine reasons to Fast Unto the Lord.
1. To combine the power of fasting with prayer for more dynamic results.
2. To become more like Christ.
3. To make a special request or achieve a specific goal.
4. To more fully praise, worship, and honor G-d.
5. To receive deeper insight and revelation from G-d.
6. To better prepare ourselves for serving G-d.
7. To more fully open our hearts to the hungry.
8. To intercede on behalf of the sins and weaknesses of others.
9. To develop self-discipline and show our commitment to G-d.

We will look at each of these nine in the days ahead.
Keep praying - even if you have stopped fasting.

Spiritual benefits from fasting

What a mighty G-d we serve!! Angels bow before Him! Heaven and earth (and me too) adore Him. What a mighty, mighty, mighty G-d we serve. We serve a Lord who is a healer and cares about everything that concerns us!!

Below is something I came across as a schedule to consider when fasting - it is not only good for a season of fasting but when you want to set aside time to be alone with the Lord. It will be good to use for our Corporate Day of Fasting on Wednesdays as well

Be blessed!!

For maximum spiritual benefit of fasting, set aside ample time to be alone with the Lord. Listen for His leading. The more time you spend with Him, the more meaningful your fast will be.

Morning

• Begin your day in praise and worship.
• Read and meditate on God's Word, preferably on your knees.
• Invite the Holy Spirit to work in you to will and to do His good pleasure according to Philippians 2:13.
• Invite God to use you. Ask Him to show you how to influence your world, your family, your church, your community, your country, and beyond.
• Pray for His vision for your life and empowerment to do His will.

Noon

• Return to prayer and God's Word.
• Take a short prayer walk.
• Spend time in intercessory prayer for your community's and nation's leaders, for the world's unreached millions, for your family or special needs.

Evening

• Get alone for an unhurried time of "seeking His face."
• If others are fasting with you, meet together for prayer.
• Avoid television or any other distraction that may dampen your spiritual focus.

When possible, begin and end each day on your knees with your spouse for a brief time of praise and thanksgiving to God. Longer periods of time with our Lord in prayer and study of His Word are often better spent alone.

A dietary routine is vital as well. Dr. Julio C. Ruibal - a nutritionist, pastor, and specialist in fasting and prayer - suggests a daily schedule and list of juices you may find useful and satisfying. Modify this schedule and the drinks you take to suit your circumstances and tastes.

5 a.m. - 8 a.m.

• Fruit juices, preferably freshly squeezed or blended and diluted in 50 percent distilled water if the fruit is acid. Apple, pear, grapefruit, papaya, watermelon, or other fruit juices are generally preferred. If you cannot do your own juicing, buy juices without sugar or additives.

10:30 a.m. - noon

• Fresh vegetable juice made from lettuce, celery, and carrots in three equal parts.

2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.

• Herb tea with a drop of honey. Avoid black tea or any tea with caffeine.

6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

• Broth made from boiling potatoes, celery, and carrots with no salt. After boiling about half an hour, pour the water into a container and drink it.

Tips on Juice Fasting

• Drinking fruit juice will decrease your hunger pains and give you some natural sugar energy. The taste and lift will motivate and strengthen you to continue.
• The best juices are made from fresh watermelon, lemons, grapes, apples, cabbage, beets, carrots, celery, or leafy green vegetables. In cold weather, you may enjoy a warm vegetable broth.
• Mix acidic juices (orange and tomato) with water for your stomach's sake.
• Avoid caffeinated drinks. And avoid chewing gum or mints, even if your breath is bad. They stimulate digestive action in your stomach.

Our Time of Corporate Fasting Has Ended but Our Corporate Praying Should Never Cease

Well the shofar has sounded and many have come to the end of this appointed time of fasting and praying and others are continuing on as directed by the Lord.

Let us continue to seek the face of G-d for the the things we are believing Him to do.

Here's a little encouragement from "The Lord's Table" on Fasting:

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that will cause us to grow in godliness, if done properly.

I say, "If done properly," because Scripture is full of examples of fasting done wrongly. Let's look at a few examples:

³ Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. ⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Isaiah 58:3-4

These people fasted, but they did it incorrectly, as is evidenced by their quarreling, strife and violence. Some people become mean when they fast and, therefore do not accomplish anything by their fasting. Indeed, God tells them that He will not hear their prayers when they fast with a self-centered attitude. Let us make sure we are not mean, rude, or self-centered when we fast.

Here is another example of fasting incorrectly:

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. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matt. 6:16-18

These people fasted to be noticed by others and thought to be quite spiritual. Their fasting was useless because it was done for men, and not for God. Friend, when you fast, don't let everyone know about it. This verse tells us several things about fasting.

• Don't fast for show, or to draw attention to yourself. Your fasting should not be obvious. Fast "in secret."
• Expect to be rewarded by God, according to His promise in verse 18

Proper fasting should have the effect of freeing us from bondage: "to set the oppressed free, and break every yoke." For too long, we have been slaves to wrong eating habits; we have been oppressed by sin, and this habitual sin has wrapped the cords of the yoke around us very tightly. Fasting with a right attitude is given to us by God as a way of breaking sin's power, and freeing us from the control of lust, overeating and other sinful eating habits. Fasting should be freeing!

Note and caution: This verse that tells us fasting "sets the oppressed free and breaks every yoke" is not at all meant to teach that fasting can replace the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. If fasting is all we needed to do to be free from sin's power, then Jesus would not have needed to die. This verse is meant to communicate that fasting, if done properly, humbles us and shows us our tremendous need for God every moment (with every hunger pang), it drives us to Jesus Christ for grace in our time of need (which is often), and it helps to bring us near to Christ to experience the power of His presence. So, please understand, fasting, in itself, is not a replacement for the power of the cross of Jesus Christ, which alone breaks sin's power and sets captives free. Rather, it is meant to drive us to the throne of grace, enable us to cry out for mercy, and to receive the assistance of Almighty God.

⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. Isaiah 58:7-9

From the above verses, we see that we are not only denying ourselves when we fast, but also that we should be "others-centered." In essence, we are turning away from focusing on ourselves and our needs, wants and desires in order to help others and meet their needs. And, as we do this, it becomes obvious that sin's power is broken and the selfishness that comes by habitual sinning is put aside. "Your healing will quickly appear." Fasting should bring healing!

⁹ If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, ¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. ¹¹ The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:9-11

The above passage tells us that if we "do away with the yoke of oppression," stop pointing fingers, and give ourselves to meeting the needs of others, then God will satisfy all our needs. Fasting, done correctly, with an emphasis on breaking sin's power and helping others, should be satisfying!

Next, we want to examine what we should do while fasting. There is a passage in the book of Daniel that spells out clearly for us what a "perfect fast" should look like. Notice this passage, and take note of everything that Daniel did while he fasted:

¹ 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 by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Daniel 9:1-2

³ Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Daniel 9: 3-5 NKJV

Now we begin to see the overall heart attitude of Daniel as he fasted; he was seeking the Lord earnestly. Seeking God, then, may be defined as studying God's Word, making earnest prayer to Him, and confessing sin.

This should be our focus during our fast days. We deny our craving for physical food; let us indulge our spiritual craving for more of God and His Word. Let us read it and seek to understand it, as Daniel did. Let us fast with the attitude of humility, confessing our sins, and asking God for forgiveness.

Keep praying!!!

Hello!! Friday was a very busy day for me so I didn't get a chance to check in and share but I know the Lord kept each and everyone of you who have been checking out our blog.

I know tomorrow, Sunday, January 11, 2009 at the sound of the shofar is the time we are to be called to end our time of fasting but never our time of praying. I am personally seeking the Lord if He desires for me to end this time of fasting at the sounding of the shofar - I will see what He says. Since He had me start before the shofar sounded He may have me continue even after it sounds on tomorrow.

I listened as many shared this fast being a struggle for them and others shared how it has been a blessing. I thought about that and that really puts into perspective our walk with Christ. It's a struggle and a blessing at the same time. It's like two people living in the same home - siblings- both raised in the same house and they reach adulthood and they have two different memories of growing up in the same house. One adult child only remembers the hurts and arguments that their parents had while the other child only remembers the vacations, the family time, the hugs. One remembers fighting with their siblings while the other remembers playing baseball in the neighborhood field. It's all about perspective and what we choose to remember or focus on.

My prayer as we corporately come to the close of this time of fasting is that we won't rejoice over the fact that the fast has ended but that we will be rejoicing over the answered prayers that have happened as a result of our time set aside away from food but using that time to pray and spend time feasting on the Word of G-d.

I personally needed this fast. That's why I am seeking G-d on when to stop. There are things that I asked the Lord for in 2008 that I am waiting to see manifest - how about you? Fasting as we shared in one of our earlier blogs is not just the abstaining from food but it's a spiritual discipline that helps to bring our flesh and spirit in tune with the Lord.

So for all who read this, here's our a little something to encourage your day. It is dealing with how to break a fast. Even though it's for a longer time of fasting, I think it will help those who will be ending their fast on tomorrow. Print it out and pass it on to someone who is fasting you know who might not have access to our blog.
Remember we are not to live by bread only but by . . .

Bless ya

How to Break a Fast

By Ron Lagerquist

You have completed a thirty-day fast. It has been a wonderful spiritual retreat, a time of refreshment with God. A withdrawal from the temptations of this world. A period of inner reflection, quiet meditation and prayer, lifted out of this world into a lofty realm where there are no earthly distractions from communing with your Father.

But now the fast has ended. It is time to return to the world of eating, a world that may have represented addiction, bondage and control.

Breaking an extended fast can be difficult. This is especially true if you were in bondage to food. It is often a period of attack. Satan wants control over your life and food has been a powerful lever. Is it possible to enter back into the world of eating and remain self-controlled? The answer is yes! Fasting was never meant to be an escape from Satan's kingdom, but a springboard to equip you in overcoming. Fear not--God has developed within you the Spirit of self-control, authority to say no!

When waking up a slumbering digestive system, the desire to eat will be intense. The flavors and textures of food will be enhanced by super clean nasal passages. Eating will be a brand new experience. This is the time to flex your new-found muscles of discipline and self-control. As the body screams, I want more, wisdom whispers, you have had enough. Fasting has schooled you in the fact that contentment does not come from a full belly but maintaining spiritual fellowship with the Bread of Life. My food is to do the will of him who sent me (John 4:34).

Eating small amounts of raw fruits and vegetables for the first five or six days will allow the body to gently wake up the digestive system. The body will continue to detoxify and cleanse during this period. Any toxins that have accumulated will begin to move due to the sweeping action of the soft fibers of fruits and vegetables.

1. For six days gradually increase the amount of raw fruits and vegetables in your diet. To break a fast and gorge on meat, bread or junk food will be disaster. Jarring the system this intensely when the digestive system is in a sensitive state can cause stomach cramps, nausea and weakness, negating much of the benefits of the fast.

2. Eat slowly and chew your food well. Saliva has enzymes that assist in digestion. Up to 80 percent of the starch, 30 percent of the protein and 10 percent of the fat can be digested by the enzymes in saliva.

3. Do not overeat! Discover the amount of food that your body needs to live a vibrant, healthy life.

4. Make juices during the breaking period. Juices are gentle nourishment to the body. Most continue to include juice in their daily routine, for the rest of their lives.

5. Continue in the same prayerfulness you had during the fast. God should be just as much a part of your eating as He was part of your fasting.

6. Educate yourself on how to begin a lifestyle of healthy eating. Fasting is a wonderful new beginning, a foundation for a lifelong, healthy diet.

7. Discern the difference between cravings and hunger. Never feed your emotions.

8. When breaking a fast over ten days, the break-in period should be extended one day for every 4 days of fasting.

An interesting phenomena occurs after a fast. The years of conditioning your body to tolerate unhealthy foods is reversed. The body is as clean as a new-born baby. Try feeding a new-born baby Grandma's apple pie.

When the body is full of toxins, its defense systems are not able to operate effectively. After a fast the natural defenses are able to perform the way God intended. Sensitivity to unhealthy food is increased. You will feel satisfied with smaller amounts of food and sluggish and tired when overeating. Rich foods, full of fat, salt, and processed sugars will cause nausea, headaches and weakness. A handful of fruit will be thoroughly satisfying. Because the digestive system has to work less, there will be boundless energy to spare.

How To Make Your Spiritual (Fasting) Experience the Best It Can Be

Praise the Lord!!! Today has been a "I Love Jesus" day for me!!! :) The Lord is so good!! As we continue our time of fasting and praying unto the Lord, let's keep believing Him for what He has promised us!!!

Here's our encouragement for the day:

How To Make Your Spiritual Experience the Best it Can Be

By Dr. Bill Bright

Receiving God's best blessing from a fast requires solid commitment. Arranging special time each day with God is absolutely crucial in attaining intimate communion with the Father. You must devote yourself to seeking God's face, even (and especially) during those times in which you feel weak, vulnerable, or irritable. Read His Word and pray during what were mealtimes. Meditate on Him when you awake in the night. Sing praises to Him whenever you please. Focus on your Heavenly Father and make every act one of praise and worship. God will enable you to experience His command to "pray without ceasing" as you seek His presence.

As you enter this time of heightened spiritual devotion, be aware that Satan will do everything he can to pull you away from your prayer and Bible reading time. When you feel the enemy trying to discourage you, immediately go to God in prayer and ask Him to strengthen your resolve in the face of difficulties and temptations.

The enemy makes you a target because he knows that fasting is the most powerful of all Christian disciplines and that God may have something very special to show you as you wait upon Him and seek His face. Satan does not want you to grow in your faith, and will do anything from making you hungry and grumpy to bringing up trouble in your family or at work to stop you. Make prayer your shield against such attacks.

Praying for our own needs and interceding for others are also important reasons to fast and pray. Bring your personal needs before the Lord; intercede for your loved ones, your friends, your church, your pastor, your community, your nation, and the world. By your prayers of humility, as you fast, you will help the Great Commission be fulfilled.

However, do not become so caught up in praying for yourself and others that you forget about simply reverencing and praising God. True spiritual fasting focuses on God. Center your total being on Him, your attitudes, your actions, your motives, desires, and words. This can only take place if God and His Holy Spirit are at the center of our attention. Confess your sins as the Holy Spirit brings them to your attention and continue to focus on God and God alone so that your prayers may be powerful and effective.

A renewed closeness with God and a greater sensitivity to spiritual things are usually the results of a fast. Do not be disappointed if you do not have a "mountaintop experience," as some do. Many people who have successfully completed extended fasts tell of feeling a nearness to God that they have never before known, but others who have honestly sought His face report no particular outward results at all. For others, their fast was physically, emotionally, and spiritually grueling, but they knew they had been called by God to fast, and they completed the fast unto Him as an act of worship; God honored that commitment.

Your motive in fasting must be to glorify God, not to have an emotional experience, and not to attain personal happiness. When your motives are right, God will honor your seeking heart and bless your time with Him in a very special way.

Fasting Is Like A Knife . .

Good Morning!! Good Afternoon! Good Evening!! Whatever time it is for you - it's still GOOD!! I hope and pray that the Lord is still revealing Himself to you even the more during your time of fasting and praying!!! We serve a wonderful G-d.

Here's something that I hope will encourage you as you continue fasting unto the Lord.

Fasting is a knife that cuts away superficiality, getting to the bone. Effective, because it is able to break up daily patterns upon which you have become so dependent. When those patterns of pleasure are removed, you are left with your own internal resources. If those resources are bankrupt, then during fasting, you will come face to face with a vacuum that only God can fill.

Fasting also applies pressure to the flesh, and, you may be appalled at how much the flesh will squirm. But it is high time that the flesh is removed from the role of God, dethroned and placed under the foot of your will. It is the creativity of a freed will which lifts us above animal instincts and releases us from the cages of empty routine.

Fasting accomplishes two purposes. First, it will reveal how much the flesh has taken control of your emotions. And secondly, it will serve in breaking the flesh’s hold upon the will.

Fasting will invariably bring to the surface deep seated fears which affect thinking and decision-making. It does this by challenging that complex human instinct called self-preservation. This instinct has been created in every living thing on earth, including man. But you are a New Creation in Christ, recreated not to be controlled by instincts. Because of your rebirth, you have been recreated into a creature of a higher and more grand design than that of your former life.

Fasting forces us to face the chaos of addictions, compulsive behaviors, depression and internal pain. It’s like pressing the pause button of life, and quietly observing how crazy and detached we have become to who we are.

Want to get off the conveyer belt of life? Smash those meaningless patterns—the ones you hated in your youth when you had passion, a sparkle for living, when you really believed in something—promising never to get trapped in the horrible mundane in which mom and dad lived as you grew up. Do you want to live a life with meaning, driven by conviction, even willing to take a chance—becoming the best you can before God? Do you want to be empowered by the Master of your destiny? His desire is for you to be decisive, powerful, self-controlled and free.

But first we must come to grips with those hidden, subtle demons of our character: fear, hopelessness, worry, doubt and selfishness. Beat the bushes, flush them out, expose them for what they are and destroy them with the power of the Word.

They don’t die quietly, because their tentacles can reach into your emotions. They taint everything they touch, no matter how pure. Their presence will rise up against you with great force when you try to fast before the Lord.

When you begin to face them, you set yourself up for failure. There is a risk of pain, especially if you are willing to go deep. It takes courage to go down to the bottom. Who knows what you may find? Faces from the past. Forgotten horrors in the root cellar of your soul. But God is there too. There is no part of you which He does not see, no matter how well you hide. And He loves you and longs to see you set free.

During fasting, patterns of living are broken. Fasting can be an oasis of spiritual refreshment in a life that has become a desert of uselessness. A spiritual desert that has been left in the wake of selfish materialism.

We have been warned not to conform to the patterns of this world, but if you are honest, very little of your lifestyle is different from that of your neighbor’s.

Quite frankly, for Christ to become front-and-center in your life, things will have to be sacrificed. And at the start, it is going to hurt.

True, spiritual fasting smashes religion and draws a distinguishable line in the sand. It is a magnifying glass that allows us to examine our unconscious patterns of living. The driving force of where our life is going. That is why Satan has invested so much energy towards controlling the subconscious patterns of mankind. He will be appalled if you attempt a fast because fasting exposes how much he has been able to infiltrate the destiny of your life.

Real Fasting

The Israelites fasted regularly. It was a part of their culture. As with so many things, fasting had become so ingrained in tradition that it had lost its true meaning. When something becomes an empty ritual, it no longer has the power to affect a heart. (Isaiah 58:2)

Their fast seemed noble, they were eager for God to come near. They would lie down, dressed in sackcloth and ashes, wailing and crying. But, as with the modern church, ancient Israel was plagued with religiosity—a disease of convenience. Fasting had become a pretty little package to offer it to God in hope that it would appease Him.

It is tough to pull the wool over God's eyes. We can pull the wool over our own eyes but not God's—He sees the heart.

God does not want our works or pretty little gifts. He wants our hearts, and that is where the Israelites made their mistake! Their fasting was an insult to God's intelligence. Do you really think that you can appease Me by offering your little fasts and expect Me to turn a blind eye to the corruption and rebellion in your heart?

God does not respond to the things which we do, He responds to a change of heart, and it is here where we come to the true purpose of spiritual fasting.

Fasting is a tool to help us change our hearts before God.

Fasting is not something which we are offering up to God, but, instead, it assists in offering ourselves up to God (Rom. 12:1-2).

Going to church, fasting, speaking in tongues, reading the Bible—we offer these things up to God as being pleasing to Him. Yet, these are the tools which assist in giving to God what He truly wants—our hearts. Our passions are the dish that delights the heart of God.

The Guest
Jesus says that the fulfillment of all the Law and Prophets is to love the Lord your God with all your mind, heart and soul.

You will sacrifice much for something you deeply love. Time, money and energy become a means to fulfill your heart’s desire.

Think of fasting as an invitation for Jesus to come and live with you for an appointed period of time. If it helps, set a bed and place-setting at the table. It may sound strange yet useful if only to solidify in your mind the reality of the presence of Jesus. And, be sure that it delights God’s heart when we put any energy towards creatively making Jesus real in our thinking and imagination.

If Jesus came to live with you during your fast, would you act different?

How much time would you spend watching TV? What kind of music would you listen? Would there be books that you would have to hide under the chesterfield? What would you feed Him? What would you do for entertainment? Would you take Him out on the town?

What you listen to, He listens to. What you imagine, He imagines. What you eat, He eats.

Feeling a little trapped? Don’t, because you’re the one who invited Him in when you became a Christian. He wants to commune with you so that He may become the Center of your existence, the Foundation of your house, Healer, Friend, and Lover.

Too close for comfort? Yes, God can make you feel uncomfortable at times, but there’s a purpose. It causes growth and maturity that results in a deeper relationship.

The fullness of God has been set within us, we don't need more of Him; it is just that our lives have become so cluttered with distractions, fears and dependencies on this world that we are unable to sense and experience that fullness. We become spiritually numb, the part of us that is connected to God becomes cold and indifferent. The Holy Spirit grieves and grows silent, creating an emptiness which He uses to draw us back into fellowship. The problem is that we so often fill that emptiness with things.

Don't do that!

Feel empty! Feel the pain! Allow your heart to suffer. Don't be afraid, it will draw you to Jesus.

Another Day to Fast & Feast on the Word of the Lord

Good Morning!!! What a beautiful day to be saved!!!! Glory to our G-d!!! Yep, I am still excited!!! This fast has thus far been a blessing for me! I actually started on Sunday morning because I hadn't eaten anything before church because I was preparing for the Prison Ministry and thought to myself I will just grab something after service but the Lord had other plans and I am glad about His plans for us!! Father truly does know best.

I personally bless the Lord when we have corporate fasts because they tend to be a little easier per say for me because I know the Body of Christ is fasting and praying along with me and for me as well. I was chatting with my sister/friend in Ohio yesterday and she shared how the Lord had told their Pastor to call them to a time of fasting and praying for the next two weeks. I shared with her that the Lord had spoke to our Pastor to call us to a time of fasting and praying this week as well. Isn't that just like G-d. He is speaking all over the place. He has called our family in Uganda to a time of fasting and praying until January 21st as well. What a privilege to be a part of this call!!!

The Lord is sweet - right now on my cd the song by Israel's New Breed, "He Knows My Name" is playing - it's wonderful to know we are not forgotten. G-d knows our name!!!

Well here is our Fasting encouragement for the day:

Four Fasting Weapons

By Ron Lagerquist

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.

Joshua 1: 6

There are pitfalls carefully set by the Enemy to sabotage any who have the audacity to attempt a fast. On top of his attacks, your mind can be your worst enemy. A battleground where thoughts are being waged against one another.

Before you can begin to experience the new life you need to grow a renewed mind. Thinking that is controlled by faith, a memory that is filled with the Word, being able to quote scripture at need, and an imagination inspired by the sure promises of God. A mind that is fit to house the Holy Spirit, freed from stinking thinking from your stinking past. Christ crucified that destructive rubbish on the cross.

Yes, but you don’t know my past! No, but you know the Word, and have made a quality decision to believe in His Word with every breath you take. The Word has power to change the mind, besides, who wants all that fear, doubt and guilt anyway? It’s useless trash, useless to you and useless to God. I hate to say it, but I know godless men who are getting more accomplished than many hide in their church Christians. We have been empowered by the Most High God! It’s time we get aggressive with our thinking. The cross was an aggressive act.

There are two types of people in this world, those who see giants and those who see the land flowing with milk and honey. Yes, there are giants inside which will rise up against a fast. Be strong! God is on your side. Fast with His promises, and inherit the land. We are going to give you some nuggets of truth while you’re fasting. Put them in your sling of faith, and take your stand against your enemy. The battle is yours for the taking!

Stone 1

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5: 21

You are the righteousness of God.

When the giant of guilt starts spewing out all your failures, past, and judgmental words of your friends, place this little stone in your sling of faith, take aim, and fire! I’m the righteousness of God.

It will create chaos in the spiritual realms and an ugly old giant will be laying dead at your feet. You are the righteousness of God, is a proclamation from heaven, it’s how God sees you. Every thought about yourself that contradicts that truth is a lie.

When you start to believe that you are His righteousness, you will begin to see evidence of it in your living. Don’t try to act as if you are righteous. The only act of obedience that you are called to perform, under the new covenant, is to believe. The righteous live by faith. Besides, getting this truth down into your soul, will keep you busy enough.

The amazing thing is that when you begin to believe that you are God’s righteousness, you won’t want to sin. You won’t need to sin because you will find His righteousness fully satisfying.

Stone 2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8: 1-2

This is more like a rock than a stone so let’s break it up into bite-sized pieces so that we can force-feed our next giant.

First, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, sent in the flesh, died on the cross, bearing your sin, rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for His church? Have you prayed and asked for forgiveness of your sins and invited Jesus to come into your life? If you answered yes to these questions then you are in Christ, and you are free from fear forever.

The God of the Universe thinks you’re perfect, and is pleased with you. In fact, He is so deeply in love with you that He is now in the process of building a home in heaven so that you can always be close to Him. You have become an object of His grace, never being able to out-sin the Father’s love. You might as well just believe it, you’ll be far happier.

But the giant of fear will say, be careful not to get too cozy with God’s grace, you might use it as a license to sin.

Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Put this little stone in your sling of faith, aim and fire!

Those who are born of the Spirit are earnestly trying to get the sin out of their life, not looking for a license to sin. Confidence in who you are in Christ will always result in holy living. Fear and guilt always lead to rebellion--the church needs to learn this and stop using these two demons to control their people!

Jesus set the captives free, we preach a gospel of freedom not condemnation. You are free from the law of sin. Law + sin + guilt + sacrifice = forgiveness; this Old Covenant system has been nailed to the cross because you are no longer a sinner. When you sin you are acting out of character. And all sin comes from unbelief. Fix your faith on the wonder of the cross. Take Communion while fasting, to remind you of the New Covenant God has made with you. Once and for all put religion to death and learn to do everything by faith and you will begin to experience a Promised Land of freedom, joy and peace all the day long.

Stone 3

. . .do not worry about tomorrow.

Matthew 6: 34

I remember visiting friends who were living right beside railway tracks. When a train came in the midst of eating supper, I thought the world was coming to an end. The entire house shook. As I looked up from the meal to see if my friends were sharing my discomfort, I was greeted with the strangest sight. While the house threatened to shake to the ground, they ate peacefully, oblivious to the chaos around. Even their child, eating in the high chair showed no signs of fear. They seemed amused at my great concern and said something that I would never forget. You get used to it.

Most of us are plagued with worry. It easily becomes the background of our thinking. Worry is an incredibly, powerful giant, but like my friends, you get used to it, desensitized to its wicked pressure.

Worry is a twisted form of hope. Hope projects the sovereign faithfulness of God into the tomorrows of concern. Worry projects a godless future where we become helpless victims of a foreboding tomorrow.

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). Take the stone of stillness, place it in your sling of faith, aim and fire!

Worry and stillness do not live well together. One will destroy the other. But I have so much on my mind. You don’t understand the responsibilities I have before me. I need to clear my schedule. Then I can begin to practice fasting and stillness. That kind of thinking is an illusion. You will always be busy and stillness was made by God to be exercised in the midst of incredible responsibility. The command to be still and know that I am God, is meant to be obeyed immediately, this moment, today.

I want you to put this book down and try something. Close your eyes and focus your mind on this single truth, He is God. Every time a thought comes to try to distract you don’t push it away, embrace it in the truth, He is God.

I’ve got to do six loads of laundry by tomorrow night. He is the God of my laundry.

I’ve got an exam, I need to study. He is the God of my exam.

I’m angry at my husband for being so insensitive last night. He is the God of my marriage.

Every worry or care that crosses your mind you place within the absolute Sovereignty of God. He is in complete control of every nuance, breath and situation in your life. Your life is His life, because to live is Christ (Php 1:21).

Stop trying to be God. Be still and let God be God. He is better at it than you are. It comes naturally to Him because it’s His nature. He can handle the stress of holding the universe together, you can’t. Your body wasn’t built for the stress of sovereignty. People are dying of stress.

Kill the giant of worry with stillness. A stillness that shouts, He is God! Watch him writhe in the death throws of utter silence. Starve worry with a soul that has been quieted before the awesome Sovereign control of a loving God.

Stone 4

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with

Romans 6: 6,7

Self is the biggest giant of all, and he doesn’t like to go hungry. During a fast, Self will raise his ugly head, and he won’t be happy. He is going to try to demand all your attention, bawling and whining about how much he’s suffering. The world is against me. I’m always being hurt, they’re so insensitive to my needs. People just don’t understand me. They don’t know what I’ve been through. In this death-trap of self-focused thoughts, the presence of God will dim.

Take the stone of servant hood; place it in your sling of faith, aim and fire! Deny your-self. Lay all your needs and pain at the feet of Jesus, then turn your back and walk away, not giving them a second thought. But how can I do that! My mind is always filled with my problems. This world is lost and needy. We invest so much of our time in useless selfish pleasure. Imagine if you were to spend as much time reaching out to others as you do watching the garbage on TV. Some of the most emotionally healthy people I have ever met are those who are vigorously involved with people.

Most of our problems stem from living such incredibly self-centered lives. The giant of Self has done very well on a diet of North American Materialism.

Self loves to be god with everything under control. The latest toys at the fingertips. Meanwhile, grubby hands search for a piece of crust. A lonely abused boy needs a friend. Strange, dangerous people that you can see when you drive in your warm car. If you look closely you might catch a glimpse of Jesus. But when self is center, there is nothing that will pull the heart to action. All you see are your own interests. The lost sheep become meaningless faces in a dreary landscape.

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phi 2:4). During your fast, see those around you through the eyes of Christ. Feel His compassion for them. Seek His heart, His interests, His goals. Deny your needs and you will experience the child-like freedom of God.