FIVE MARKS OF A DISCIPLE: OCTOBER 5 – NOVEMBER 2

Posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: Fasting builds intimacy with God, and encourages you to grow inwardly, upwardly, and outwardly. Explore five marks of a transformed disciple of Jesus and determine five actions that will allow God to change you. An action that applies to each mark is focus. Fasting and prayer is God’s way for us to find the kind of focus that builds intimacy within and actions without. Be with Him. Be like Him. Do what He wants.

COMING NEXT! MAKING SPACE: NOVEMBER 4 – NOVEMBER 27

Posts every Wednesday and Friday: Reflect on how to use fasting to make more space for God in your life. God made a space in His world for us. Make space in the morning and enjoy intimacy with Him. Make space in your schedule to breathe and be refreshed by Him. Make space in the moment and better reflect God to others. Make space in your conversations with others and learn how to listen like He does. Make space in your commitments so that you can say Yes! to the things He wants you to do.

by Amanda Bew

Fast Night 12: Clutter

Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. Col 3:13b

Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Eph 4:26

Settling into sleep is a perfect opportunity to review your day and where you might need to forgive someone. If it has been a day of fasting and seeking God, you especially want to make sure your focus on Him during the day was not in vain. Sometimes when we fast and it is something we are truly missing in our day, we might get cranky or irritable. We might speak sharply to people in our lives. We might be judgmental about people who might get in our way on the road or in a line. I try to take care of others and serve more when I fast, but life is life, and we are not perfect. Because we are fasting, the devil and our own selfish thoughts sometimes seem to pull at us more strongly.

Yesterday, I was helping clear out the clutter in my husband’s former home to make it a rental. It was a day for sun up to sun down fasting for me and I was constantly reminded to converse with God during these chores. I was feeling pretty good about myself, but as the day lengthened into two days I found I was being a little too short with him over the small trash pile and the burgeoning keep pile.

Before sleep, God stepped through the clutter in my emotions and nudged me to find complete forgiveness for my snarky attitude. It was an opportunity to reflect on the total forgiveness that I experience through Jesus. I slept well. This type of clearing out is a habit to be treasured.

Father, forgive me for letting my own control, needs, and desires overpower what could have been an even sweeter time of fasting and tasting Your love. Amen.


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