As some of you know, I have been doing the Daniel Fast for the last 21 days. Why, you may ask? Here’s what I have learned…

1. We don’t have to fast for forgiveness. Every wrong we have done and will do was forgiven at the Cross.
2. Fasting enables us to tune out the world’s distraction and tune in to God.
3. When we pray and fast, we don’t do so to change God or His will; by praying and fasting, we are the ones changed.
4. The level of our agreement with God will determine the degree of closeness in our walk with Him.
5. It is from a state of grace, not legalism, that we will find real and lasting transformation.
6. When we’re facing struggles, we must rely on God’s power alive within us through the Holy Spirit.
7. Many times, we can lose our passion in prayer or stop praying for certain things altogether because we lose heart or give up. But God invites us to keep them before Him and trust Him for an answer in His time.
8. You cannot earn God’s pleasure, but you can experience it to a greater degree as you follow Jesus Christ.
9. Fasting is the deep cleaning that helps us take our mind off the things of this world and instead have a refreshed focus on the things of the Spirit.
10. The most earnest prayers come from us when we recognize our need for God.
11. Prayer is not just about the answer; it’s also about glorifying God in the process of waiting for the answer.
12. Fasting is a means of disconnecting from the distractions of daily life and consciously choosing to bring God into greater focus.
13. The purest motivation for our prayers is that God will be glorified and that His will would reign supreme in our lives, just as it does in heaven.
14. While prayer is our declaration of our dependence on God, our spoken words can be the manifestation of what’s happening in our hearts.
15. When it comes to the transforming power of God working in someone’s life, God often uses people to bring about divine life change.
16. Approaching God with a heart of humility will always position you to find relief in Jesus.
17. Our timeless God owns the future. He knows exactly what is going to happen, and He promises to be with us every step of the journey.
18. Jesus was so powerful in public because He was so prayerful in private.
19. God’s new wine always changes us by expanding our faith, enlarging our purpose, and bringing renewed vision.
20. Fasting and prayer are essential to receiving a clear vision of God’s specific path for our lives.
21. Fasting is like a tune-up, so I can keep my passion for God and enjoyment of Him at a high level.

If you have been fasting, what have you learned?

Nearly everyone has heard the story of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:30-37.  After studying this passage this morning, I came across these points to ponder:

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.  32 A Levite walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

• The Priest and the Levite showed that to really help and restore people, it takes more than just observing them in their situation.  It’s more than just looking from the safety of our churches or our televisions into the lives of other people and assessing their situation from the point of our luxury.

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When drought and famine came to Bethlehem, Elimelech moved to Moab with his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, who married Moabite women.  Elimelech died in Moab, then the young men, Kilion and Mahlon, also died, leaving Naomi destitute.  Hearing that the famine in Bethlehem had ended, Naomi decided to return home.  Ruth, one of Naomi’s Moabite daughters-in-law, declared her loyalty to Naomi, so the two of them set out together and arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the spring barley harvest.  To obtain food for the coming year, Ruth went out to work, beginning in Boaz’s field.  When he learned who she was, Boaz instructed his workers to be generous to Ruth.

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Open, transparent confession time…

One thing that I was convicted of this week was that every morning I would wake up and turn on my iPad and check out the weather, news, and Facebook.  I felt that God was saying, “You care more about what your friends are doing today, than what I want to do in and through you today.”  Ouch!  That hurts.  Now, I’m not saying Facebook or the news is a sin, but for me I had to prioritize my commitment to God.

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Moses was a leader that brought clear vision to the people around him.  His constant message for FORTY years while in the wilderness was “land flowing with milk and honey…land flowing with milk and honey.”  He recklessly pursued the mission and the vision that God had given him at the burning bush.  (Exodus 3)

Think about this: After the Israelites had journeyed through the Red Sea, Pharaoh’s army was chasing them while the walls of water were gathered on each side.  Once the Israelites fully crossed over, God closed the waters back over the Egyptian army, in effect, wiping out the only defense that Pharaoh had.  This wasn’t just a few foot-soldiers, but the best that the Eqyptians had, including 600 chariots and the top commanders.

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Everyone has heard the story of the boy with five loaves and two fishes.  Here is the text found in John 6:

5 Jesus looked up and saw the large crowd coming toward him. He asked Philip, “Where will we buy food to feed these people?”

6 Jesus said this to test him, for he already knew what he was going to do.

7 Philip replied, “More than a half year’s salary worth of food wouldn’t be enough for each person to have even a little bit.”
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said,

9 ”A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them.11 Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted.12 When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.”

13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten.

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by Steven Furtick

There’s an overwhelming obsession with originality going on today.

Everybody wants to be an original. Or do something original.
This is especially true when it comes to any creative endeavor.

Writing.
Film.
Art.
Preaching.
Pretty much anything that requires even a hint of creativity.

Basically the line of thinking says that if something isn’t completely original, it isn’t a bit creative. Which translates into the idea that you have to do things no one has done before and say things no one has said before.

I’m not buying it. In fact, I’m increasingly finding the opposite to be true:
True creativity is fresh, but not always original.

Let me come at it this way. A truly creative sermon isn’t where you say things no one has ever said before (In fact, if you’re saying things that no one in 2000 years of Christendom has thought of, you shouldn’t be proud. You should be a little worried.) A creative sermon is one that takes a truth that has been heard 100 times and makes you feel like you’re hearing it for the first time. It’s not original to you. But it’s made fresh by you.

Truly creative movies aren’t movies that are completely original. They’re movies that provide fresh takes on themes that are in any great movie: conflict, loss, overcoming adversity, etc.

Perhaps the greatest enemy of creativity is the quest for originality.
There’s only one person who has ever created ex nihilo. We’re not Him.
Our creativity lies in making the original creation fresh.

Originality is overrated. Fresh is where it’s at.