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About That Fast I Called

October 10th, 2011 | No Comments | Posted in The Mission

I called a two week fast this past Sunday. I did not do a build up to it. I did not get a cool graphic or a mailer or write a book. I did not give a pep talk or do a teaching on fasting.

There is nothing wrong with any of that but I did not do it.

Why?

Fasting is not a church growth strategy, it is a spiritual discipline.

There is a time to teach on fasting, prayer, submission, tithing, worship, and sacrifice but at some point folks at least some folks should be mature to use these things effectively when the Lord calls for it and for the people of The Mission Delray, that time is now.

This next two weeks is critical to the life of this church. We are in a serious transition period and I don’t want to miss it. That is enough reason to fast.

But in prayer this weekend the Lord told me to call a fast. That is a better reason to call it.

So what should you fast? I can’t tell you. And if I were you I would not tell anyone else what you are fasting.

Some may want to skip certain meals, like lunch for a few days. Others may do a Daniel Fast. You could cut out certain foods that you enjoy or limit your portions.

You can also combine this with a spiritual discipline like extra prayer or cut out some things that crowd out your God time like facebook or television.

In addition to fasting I have decided to cut out Facebook for the next few weeks. I have stuff that will auto post there but I will not be wasting my life trolling. I think God wants to birth some things in this period and I don’t want to miss it.

Whether you attend The Mission Delray or not why don’t you join us? You never know what God may do in this time.

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Tags: fasting

The Wooing of the Holy Spirit

January 28th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Discipleship

The Lord has been talking to me this week. I stated in The Mission newsletter that I am discerning a grace to receive healing and restoration for things things uncovered in our time of fasting. It is as if God is calling us as a people to seek the very gift He is wanting to give. There is an old term for this, it is the wooing of the Holy Spirit.

In the middle of the pivotal chapter of the book of Isaiah it reads,

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near

There are times that God enables people to enter into a deeper relationship with Him by the person of the Holy Ghost.

While a full scale awakening is hard to dismiss, much of what the church has seen in the last century or so has been revival and renewal. That does not make it a lesser move, just different. But it does make it more difficult to discern what God is doing and we must be sure to “seek Him while He may be found and to call upon Him while He is near”.

I have a strong sense that the Lord is drawing in a special way. Missionaries, while we are ending our 12 days of prayer and fasting, do not miss your day of visitation.

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Tags: fasting, holy ghost

Gettin Over the Hump

January 18th, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted in Discipleship, The Mission

Our church, The Mission, has just completed the first week of prayer and fasting. We are in the midst of three weeks of prayer and fasting for personal breakthrough, corporate breakthrough, and clarity for the future decisions I have to make regarding The Mission.

I don’t know if it was just me but the first week seemed to be a breeze. If you read my blog, you know that was not because of the dietary choices. There was a supernatural grace on the fast. If you don’t know what that means, God is in it. I have received so many testimonies about what God is doing in the lives of the people of The Mission.

But as I have entered this week, it seems that it is not as easy. For the first time I am really beginning to crave coffee, and sweets, and jelly, and … well you get the idea.

The key to remember is that it is not really a fast if you are not giving up something you desire. And sometimes it takes longer to desire something. When you work out, it is the reps that are hard that cause growth. In school, it is the words you have to look up that bring understanding.

It’s the same in the Kingdom. You have to get to the end of yourself to really find God’s grace.

Don’t give in when it gets tough. Press through.

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Tags: Daniel Fast, fasting, The Mission

What a Daniel Fast is Not

January 14th, 2009 | 2 Comments | Posted in Discipleship, The Mission

It is day 4 of Awaken, our 21 day time of prayer and fasting at The Mission. Some people are doing a straight water fast and others are doing a combination water / Daniel fast. The Daniel fast comes from the beginning of the book of Daniel chapters 1 and 10. If you actually go to those Scriptures there is very little said. I don’t think that is by accident.

There really is no such thing as a Daniel fast. That term is not used anywhere in Scripture and is not even referred to in the Bible. But as I have done research on the internet you would think someone found a lost chapter of Daniel and has all the rules. No this, yes that, no that, yes this. I saw one concerned Christian say he was worried that he might eat the wrong thing and He might not please God. That put me over the edge.

I have one goal with this post, to prevent and eliminate religious legalism at The Mission.

First, the fast is not for God, it is for us.

Second, you need to decide how and what to fast. Most often, the Daniel fast is not eating meat or meat byproducts (dairy products, eggs, honey, etc), sugars, caffeine. Some people say you should also not eat anything made with white flour. Some others say you should not eat anything processed. Some say you should only eat raw vegetables. The problem with this goes back to the point that this is not in the Bible. If I eat an organic food that tastes just like the real food what have I accomplished?

The Daniel fast is a period of avoiding dietary pleasures. Americans eat a lot of meat. To not eat meat for a few weeks is a sacrifice for most people. If that is not a sacrifice for you then you need to pick something else.

Case in point: Some people are vegetarians. A period of Daniel fasting would be super easy for them, they live it. Does that mean a vegetarian is some super spiritual person? Of course not. They need to pick something else.

I am a meat and potatos guy. I do not eat almost any vegetables. Many fruits and almost all vegetables taste utterly disgusting to me. When my wife makes broccoli or green beans, I don’t even wash the glassware they were cooked in! If I had to go vegetarian for three weeks I would almost be doing a water fast.

So what did I decide to do? I am not having coffee. That itself is a huge sacrifice for me. I am also not having sugar, meat, dairy, eggs, honey, or pasta. But I am not going to freak out over it. I might have minestrone soup and if it happens to have a few pieces of pasta in it I won’t feel that I failed. It ain’t a bowl of spagetti! I am going to try soy milk as disgusting as that sounds. It might have a little sweetner in it. I drink milk every day so going soy is a huge deal for me.

I started the fast with four days of water fasting. I will do more of that later. But in the rest of the days I am going to deny myself the pleasure of eating. And that may look different for me than it does for you.

But my goal is not to get all proud that I accomplished something. The goal is to deny the desires of the flesh so I can hear God better and see breakthroughs in the lives of the people at The Mission.

So deny yourself but be free!

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Tags: Daniel Fast, fasting