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Fast Day 27: Satisfied
Jesus taught what is known as the Beatitudes or the Blessings to start off His Sermon on the Mount. I love that He began this teaching by defining what it means to follow Him in such a positive way, not in a condemning way! The follower He describes is someone who is humble spiritually, who…
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Fast Day 26: Hungry and Needy
What is the difference between hunger and greed and gluttony? Your fast may help you to explore these three aspects: Hunger, first and foremost, is a compelling need or desire for food, but we may characterize any strong and compelling desire or craving as a hunger. For example, a hunger for more in life, a…
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Fast Day 25: Hungry and Homeless
Hunger and homelessness is not a modern phenomenon. Lamentations was written by Jeremiah, the prophet of God, in the 6th century before Christ and this book of the Bible is known for its imagery and poetic brilliance. Jerusalem and the temple were judged by God and then destroyed by the Babylonians. They felt their rejection…
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Fast Day 24: Compassion
When Jesus felt compassion for the crowds, He knew the specific distress, oppression and burdens that each person was experiencing. He wanted to free them from all these things! Seeing the crowds, Jesus felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9: 36 The Lord of the…
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Fast Day 23: Full
We are fasting so that we recognize how God longs to feed us from His heritage, the land of milk and honey (Isaiah 58:14)! He has created a promised land of true Life for us. It is full of things that are good to feast on, that give us strength and that will fully satisfy…
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Fast Day 22: Crying Out
We live in a world where it is considered rude, disrespectful and maybe even bullying to raise your voice at work or in public. At home, we may yell at our kids or even at our spouses, but probably feel guilty about it. In church, we do raise our voices in song, but most church…
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Fast Night 21: All Night
Be gracious to me Lord, for I call to You all day long. Psalm 86:3 During a sun up to sun down fasting day, I am focused on calling on God all day long. I am in physical hunger from lack of food, asking God to turn that hunger into a stronger hunger for Him.…
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Fast Day 21: Hearing His Answers
Even though we may be unused to the fasting part of our commitment, it probably feels pretty straight forward! On the other hand, the prayer part can be harder to pin down until our fasting helps us realize we want it to be a deeper two-way conversation. The psalmists felt the same. Hear me, LORD,…
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Fast Day 20: Wisdom
The Lord is our rear guard (Isaiah 58:8)! In a battle, the rear guard protects the backs of the main force who are engaging with an enemy army. When the eyes of the main force are focused on looking ahead, the eyes of the rear guard are looking behind and to the sides. They will…
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Fast Day 19: Seeking
Jesus shares a beautiful illustration of how God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field in His creative world design! This is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than…
happy hunger
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
Reflect on how to use fasting to make more space for God in your life. Make space in the moment and better reflect God to others. Make space in the morning and enjoy intimacy with Him. Make space in your conversations with others and learn how to listen like He does. Make space in your schedule to breathe and be refreshed by Him. Make space in your commitments so that you can say Yes! to the things He wants you to do. God made a space in this world for us. Let’s return the favor!
