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Marks of a Disciple 6: God’s Harvest
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The prophet Isaiah spoke of him, “He is the voice calling from the wilderness for all to prepare the way of the LORD.” John himself had a garment of camel’s hair,…
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Marks of a Disciple 5: Spirituality
Michael Haykin says, “True spirituality is intimately bound up with the Holy Spirit and His work.” A disciple must be marked with the Holy Spirit and filled to its fullness (Eph 1:22-23). Things happen around this person that cannot be explained logically. People who do not know God suspect there is something different in how this…
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Marks of a Disciple 3: Humility
“Humility, the place of entire dependence on God, is, from the very nature of things, the first duty and the highest virtue of the creature, and the root of every virtue.” Michael J. Gorman With humility consider one another as more important than yourselves, not looking out for your own interests, but for the interests…
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Marks of a Disciple 2: Hunger
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right living, for they will be satisfied. Matthew 5: 6 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…
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Marks of a Disciple 1: Who is a Disciple?
“We are here to live holy, loving, lowly lives.” Amy Carmichael Disciples are important. Here are the last words of Jesus, called The Great Commission, that were spoken to them: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name…
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Fast Day 30: God’s Response
There are many ways we can call out to God: we can pray as Jesus taught us, be persistent in our prayer, pray out loud and keep our hearts prepared to pray through fasting. We know what we want and now we know how to approach Him! Let’s take our relationship with our gracious Lord…
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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!
