Fasting Day 11 – 1/22/2009
January 22, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 22, 2009
Day 11. Living by the Word
Matthew 4:4
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
The Word seems to some as a static recording of history and theology, when in reality it is the difference between living and dying. The physical man can be and in fact is sustained by food. The spirit man, however, can only be sustained by the Word which comes from God. Since we are created to be both physical and spiritual, then does it not make sense that we should require both types of food to sustain whole life. Of course it does. You all know people who are alive on the outside, so to speak, but are in the process of dying on the inside. Those who are not feeding their spirit man inside can be recognized by their lack of hope, vitality and a relationship with God. The Words of God not only can, but WILL bring life to your soul. Take some time today and feast on His Words. “How much time?” you ask. Feat on His Word until you feel the life in it, until God speaks to your heart. If you focus and pay attention, it really will not take long. Feast and Live!
Children’s Journal
January 22, 2009
Day 11. The Ten Commandments
God told Moses to come meet Him up on a mountain. When Moses got there God gave him stone tablets which had the Ten Commandments written on them. These were the rules for everyone to follow all of the time.
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 10 – 1/21/2009
January 21, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 21, 2009
Day 10. Take time to worship
Psalm 34:1-8
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Here you are right at the half-way point of this year’s time of prayer and fasting. Time to take a break. Today, make this a day of worship to God. Set aside the requests and petitions do not worry about the growing, which will happen automatically. Just Praise God! Praise and worship Him all day long!
Children’s Journal
January 21, 2009
Day 10. Birds Feed the Prophet
To prove that He still cares for him, God sends Ravens to bring food to the prophet Elijah. God then takes him up on a mountain and shows him a whole lot more.
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 9 – 1/20/2009
January 20, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 20, 2009
Day 9. Meeting with God
Psalm 50:12-15
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. 15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
When you are called into a meeting it is often for what you can for someone else, or the company. Come in my office, for example, and I am apt to ask you to do something around the church. In today’s passage, God is calling you into a meeting, but He not for what you can do for Him. He is calling you in so you can ask Him to do something for you! He has everything that He will ever have needed. He needs nothing you can give to Him. So He simply asks for you to call upon Him. His promise is that he will deliver you in your day of trouble and the response will be you glorifying Him, a quite natural response. As you go to Him today do not be afraid to call out to Him, call out and see just how He responds to you.
Children’s Journal
January 20, 2009
Day 9. Jesus Walks on Water
Jesus shows the disciples that He is able to do great miracles. They are all amazed!
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 8 – 1/19/2009
January 18, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 19, 2009
Day 8. Lord of the flies
Matthew 12:24
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
“Beelzebub,” being interpreted by some as the, “Lord of Flies.” Not a great thought. Hey, I read that book when I was I Junior High School. As I remember a bunch of kids are, for some reason, abandoned alone on an island and left to fend for themselves. What follows is anarchy and total epic failure of any organization. The end result is leadership by bullies and something of the “survival of the fittest” domination. I have tried to forget much about that book as is at the very least somewhat weird. All of that said, as Jesus was casting out a demon the religious leaders were looking on and did not understand this kind of power. Remember Jesus also taught as one having authority, not like the Scribes and Pharisees! The only way they could explain away their own inability to help this man was to criticize Jesus. All of this brings us to today’s point, God has an order for everything and all things will eventually submit to that order. There are always those, like pesky flies, which try to get out of the God given order, leading to anarchy and chaos. When Jesus puts the demonic spirit in its place, that order is restored. What is out of order in your life, or do you have some of those pesky flies trying to bring disorder and chaos into your life and home. Today is the day to turn to the one who can control the flies and bring order and peace back for you. Don’t be surprised, be amazed at Him!
Children’s Journal
January 19, 2009
Day 8. Jesus Dies for Us
Jesus loves each and every one of us that He died on a cross for us. He died so that our sins can be forgiven. All we must do is ask Him to forgive us of our sins and come into our hearts to be our Lord and Savior.
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 7 – 1/18/2009
January 18, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 18, 2009
Day 7. Walking in the Light
Ephesians 5:8-10
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
Easing across the floor, carefully one foot at a time, you feel for anything. You know that it is out there waiting for you that corner of the dresser the bed post; they are all waiting to jump out in front of you in the dark and attack your unprotected toes. Sound familiar? How much more simple is it to be walking, stumble free, when the light is on! You were once stumbling around in spiritual darkness, not knowing from where the next attack from the enemy was coming. But now you have the advantage of being “Children of Light.” You now can walk boldly in the Light of God and find, goodness, righteousness, and truth in the path before you. When you walk in His light we can easily find His will for you and easily find your place in His work. Today walk boldly as one who can see and watch for God’s activity around you – then ask Him how He would have your respond.
Children’s Journal
January 18, 2009
Day 7. God Help us do Great Things
Even though David was just a small shepherd boy God helped him kill the giant Goliath. God will help you also every day.
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 6 – 1/17/2009
January 16, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 17, 2009
Day 6. Presenting ourselves to God
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Wow, can you imagine preparing to walk into the throne room of God? What do you wear, how do you fix your hair? Fortunately our God is not so concerned about the clothes that you are wearing when you come into His presence as He is about the condition of your heart. When we present ourselves to God it is, according to the Apostle Paul, it is to be with total release to Him, and totally clean. At this point in the fast you have perhaps come across some things in your life which Holy Spirit is giving you the gentle nudge to change, or perhaps even to ask forgiveness of. Now is the time. This self-presentation is for our own growth and spiritual nourishment. Take time today to allow Holy Spirit to help you search inside to see if you are acceptable before Him. Go ahead, it is really not as painful as it seems.
Children’s Journal
January 17, 2009
Day 6. Jesus When He Was a Boy
Even though He was only twelve Jesus was learning about God. In this story He stays behind in Jerusalem and learns the Bible from the teachers in the temple. He amazes them with His questions.
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 5 – 1/16/2009
January 16, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 16, 2009
Day 5. Hearing the voice of God
John 10:27-28
27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Ready for a Baaaad joke – Why did the Mommy lamb spank her son? Because he was a baaaaaaaad boy! Can’t say I didn’t warn you. Hearing the voice of God seems to be one of the greatest challenges in the church world today. But it really is not that difficult. Think about kids for a moment. If they are just “hanging out” there can be a million of them in the front room all talking at once and they can all hear just fine, but let a kid and parent be the only ones in the house and the request to take out the trash cannot be heard, (really Mom, I didn’t hear you say . . .). The key is that they want to hear what their friends say and they despise the trash! Herein lays the key in hearing the voice of our Shepherd, paying attention and wanting to listen. It is ironic how much better we hear when we put ourselves in a listening position and focus our attention on His voice. The voice of our True Shepherd is not something He wants to hide from us. He wants to lead us into the best, but we must be in a spiritual state to listen and our focus must be on what He says, not what we want Him to say to us. Try to listen today – there is life there.
Children’s Journal
January 16, 2009
Day 5. God Tells Noah to Build an Ark
God will always provide for you when He tells you what to do. God will never leave you all alone. He will always help you to do what He tells you to do.
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 4 – 1/15/2009
January 15, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 15, 2009
Day 4. Treasuring God’s Word
Job 23:12
12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.
If you have committed to fasting some portion, or all, of your regular diet, this scripture should have special meaning to you today. Even though you are denying yourself for a time period, food is essential for your body to survive. With that in mind it is amazing how many people treat the Word of God nonchalantly, as if it is not necessary for their spiritual well being. Job has the right perspective of the Word when he says that he treasures it more than his daily food. It has always been a bit of a mystery to me how individuals place value on certain items. Something which to me appears to be plain or mundane fetches millions in an auction, while some really cool “stuff” goes for almost nothing. The value is set not arbitrarily, but it is set by desire. When something has much desire its value escalates. How much do you value God’s Word? Is it more important that life itself to you? To Job it was. Feast on His Word today – let it fill your void!
Children’s Journal
January 15, 2009
Day 4. Listening to God’s Word
We need to be very careful to always do what God tells us to do. Sometimes it might not make sense to us, but remember God always knows what is best for us.
Fasting Day 3 – 1/14/2009
January 14, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 14, 2009
Day 3. Beware the devices of satan
Genesis 2:8-9; 15-17
8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Children’s Journal
January 14, 2009
Day 3. Beware of satan’s plans
Satan slithered into the Garden of Eden and told lies to Adam and Eve. We have to be careful and not listen to what he says. We need to only listen to God.
Today’s Puzzle
Fasting Day 2 1/13/2009
January 13, 2009 by pastor
Filed under 2009 Fasting Manual
Adult / Teen Journal
January 13, 2009
Day 2. The stomach kingdom
Luke 4:1-2
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
Okay, I find these verses to be a, “no kidding” moment. Jesus has just spent forty days in the wilderness without food and the obvious, “He was hungry,” had to be stated? It is, however, important for us to understand that while Jesus was fully God, He was still fully man. Whatever the details of your fasting may be, you will by now, all the way into day two, be experiencing the physical and mental signs of loss, which is then followed by appetite. It is now that you will really experience the battle for superiority in your body and mind. But this is also the day when you begin to show your carnal “man” just who is in charge (that would be your spirit man – just in case you were wondering). I find it comforting the Jesus went through these same battles and His result was two-fold; (1) He was hungry, and (2) He won, because He finished His fast. There He goes again, leading by example!
Children’s Journal
January 13, 2009
Day 2. God Has a Job For Us
God has a job for each of us to do. He gave Sampson special power to do His work. Even though he made some mistakes God helped Sampson to destroy the enemy.
Today’s Puzzle
