What’s Next? More fasting in Peoria.
January 25th, 2010
Are you interested in exploring more about fasting here in Peoria. Several other area churches are joining together for another 21-day prayer and fasting initiative. Learn more here.
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Living in the “Fast Lane”
January 24th, 2010
By Cal Rychener
Thanks to all of you who braved this journey of prayer and fasting for the past 21-days. I hope it’s been a rich time of growing deeper in your walk with Jesus. I believe that regardless of whether you’ve seen any immediate breakthroughs in your life and circumstances, you have laid the groundwork for a year of breakthroughs as you walk with our Lord and pursue Him.
Now that this 21-day journey is ending, I want to challenge you to incorporate some of what you have learned about the power of fasting into your lifestyle. Whenever you feel like things are slipping in your spiritual life, whenever the edge has gone off of your walk with God, whenever you sense the need for fresh power and anointing, take a day or two and fast and pray. Reposition yourself in humility before God through fasting. The Bible says in James 4:8-10, “Come near to God and he will come near to you…Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.” Fasting is a powerful tool for humbling yourself and drawing near to God.
I’ve been thinking over the last couple of weeks: Why is it that January gets all the fresh energy and commitment to change, and then by February it’s back to business as usual? Why can’t February and March and April and May and all the rest of the months retain some of the same focus and excitement that we feel in January? They can! How? Well, ask yourself: What brought about those changes and shifts in your life in January? You positioned yourself before God so he could change you. Now, reposition yourself as often as you have too!
I wonder what would happen if at the beginning of each month, we set aside the first day or two to fast and pray and seek God. What if we set aside one day each week to fast and pray? Imagine how that might enable us to sustain the focus and the changes that occurred in our lives in January. You’ve now been exposed to this powerful tool for humbling yourself and drawing near to God; use it as often as you need to stay positioned or to reposition yourself. And watch what God will do as you decide to live in the “fast lane.”
Cal Rychener is Senior Pastor of Northwoods Community Church.
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The performance trap
January 23rd, 2010
By Deveraux Hubbard
WOW. We are approaching the end of our fast. Just one day left. I must confess that this time of fasting has been the most challenging time of fasting ever. It has been challenging not because of what I’ve given up, but because of what God has exposed to me about me.
I’ve struggled for much of my journey as a follower of Jesus Christ with what some have called the “performance trap.” The “performance trap” is the notion or belief that God’s is pleased with me when I perform well. I love God and as a result, I want to please God. I want to fulfill the calling that He has placed on my life. I have several internal “checklists” that I use to evaluate how I’m doing. Sometime I complete my list and still feel as though I’ve failed and as a result, God can’t be pleased with me. During those times I condemn myself because in my mind, God is only pleased with me when I have performed as close to perfect as possible.
Sadly, I hadn’t recognized that the root of the issue was my view of God. I’ve viewed God in my personal walk as a “performance based” God. During this fast, I heard God say, “Deveraux, you are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”. I’ve read Mark 1:11 numerous times, but I didn’t have an ear to hear. God is a relational God. He takes pleasure in my connection and relationship with Him. I am not Jesus (clearly) but God is pleased with His son before he does anything. Before miracles, teaching, the cross and resurrection, God is pleased. God loves you and me. God is pleased with us because of our communion and connection with Him through Jesus Christ. God’s pleasure is grounded in relationship not performance. Even my obedience in service is a result of the relationship not to gain points. Thanks for the liberating clarity God.
If you struggle with a “performance trap” mindset, please hear God speak. “____________, you are my son/daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Deveraux R. Hubbard is the Senior Pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church.
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Don’t quit!
January 22nd, 2010
By John King
Reading Philippians 3
Only a few days left now before the end of the 21-day period of Prayer and Fasting.
If you are like me the temptation to quit is always around. Maybe you did quit and need to get back on board and finish well.
I love the Apostle Paul’s words of encouragement and determination to finish well in Philippians 3:13-14 one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Reminds me of the anonymous poem that has inspired me many times its entitled “Don’t Quit.”
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!
Lets press on to the end and believe God for His blessing!
John King serves as Lead Pastor Riverside Community Church.
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What I’m learning
January 21st, 2010
By Jim Powell
As I’ve reflected and asked the Lord to probe my heart and mind (Psalm 7:9), there are several things He has shown me during the course of my fast…
- How often I look to food for comfort rather than turning first to Him
- The need for more discipline and self-control in my life
- I feel better when I’m not filling my life with so much junk
- Exercising greater discipline in one area of my life spills over into other areas
- My communion with God has been more consistent and focused
- I’ve been so challenged and blessed by this that I want to make fasting a regular part of my life
That’s a little of my story. What is God showing you? Take some time to reflect and then pray about what it is that He has been teaching you during this time.
Jim Powell serves at Lead Pastor of Richwoods Christian Church.
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Finding Your Focus
January 20th, 2010
By Antwon Dussett
Prayer and fasting has been defined as voluntarily going without food in order to focus on prayer and fellowship with God. Prayer and fasting often go hand in hand, but this is not always the case. You can pray without fasting, and fast without prayer. It is when these two activities are combined and dedicated to God’s glory that they reach their full effectiveness. Having a dedicated time of prayer and fasting is not a way of manipulating God into doing what you desire. Rather, it is simply forcing yourself to focus and rely on God for the strength, provision, and wisdom you need. With the distractions of life, it is easy to get lost and lose focus on God and the purpose/will He has for our lives. Focus is a result of priorities, priorities is a result of purpose, and purpose is a result of a personal relationship with God through Christ. When the focus is lost, we must lock back in on His will and purpose for us.
Proverbs 3:5-6 helps us find that focus. Finding the focus:
- Requires Dependence (vs. 5 – “Trust in the Lord…”)
- Requires Dedication (vs. 5 – “…with all your heart,”)
- Requires Discipline (vs. 5 – “…And lean not on your own understanding;”)
- Requires Discernment (vs. 6 – “In all your ways acknowledge Him,”)
- Results in Direction (vs. 6 – “…And He shall direct your paths.”)
Just as the On-star direction device in cars helps individuals find their way from one point to another by using maps, instructions, and satellites as the source. God provides us direction and instruction in our journey through life, but we must stay connected to Him as the source.
Antwon Dussett serves at St. Paul Baptist Church as Associate Pastor.
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Plowing
January 19th, 2010
By Tim Reist
Homonym. When is the last time you thought about one of those? A homonym is simply a word that is spelled the same but has different meanings. The word fast is a homonym. Fast can mean the speed at which I do something or the pace at which I live my life. As well, a fast is a spiritual practice we embark on to give up something that tends to have control over us—for God. Ever thought about how those two meanings tend to react and interact with one another when we fast.
It seems to me that a fast has a way of slowing my fast-paced life down because I’m replacing meal times or whatever I am giving up for God with a stillness before him to feast on his word and truth. One of the reasons I find that I don’t really want to slow down is that it forces me to plow through things I normally don’t want to and can easily ignore because of my fast pace. Questions arise in our soul like the following:
- Do I trust God for his provision? Really, like when is the last time you really really had to trust God to provide for you as you stepped out in faith?
- Do I trust God for his restoration? Often, our fast pace allows us to push down the wounds in our soul so we don’t have to deal with them but when you fast, they have a way of surfacing from the depths once again.
My pastor said recently that you have to plow through the rough times and fasting can definitely be one of those plowing times. I wrote a quick poem about plowing to hopefully encourage you as your plowing through this fast.
I plow through his book to get a God look
I plow through prayer to breathe God’s air
I plow through the stilling to sense your filling
I plow through listening to get a glimpse of your face glistening
I plow through my emotions to get a touch of your Gilead lotion
I plow through my doubts to hold the promises from your mouth
I plow through Satan’s darts to see your dreams and heart
Tim Reist serves Northwoods Community Church as Executive Director of Ministry.
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Three Peas for a Saint, Spiritual Vitality
January 18th, 2010
By John Cloud
As a young man raised by my grandmother, I remember a time when she would say, “Son, eat your vegetables, they are good for you.” Even though there was plenty of other nasty looking green stuff—cabbage, collard greens, squash, spinach and the likes—I remember best the freshly cooked green beans and peas, grown from her garden.
Mostly I remember the joy of eating the meat and starch food instead of being scolded to eat the veggies. And as I got older, though, I still ate only the green beans and peas—even through twenty years of military service.
Eventually it was my spouse that took grandma’s place, saying, “Honey, eat your vegetables, they are good for you.” (I still almost always choose peas!)
But now as a member of the body of Christ, it’s my turn to say, “Eat your peas! They’re good for you.” Here are three P’s vital to the healthy growth of the saints.
The first “P” is for prayer. It was in a praying atmosphere that the church was born (Acts 1:14), and throughout its early history, prayer continued to be like the very air for it (Acts 2:42; Acts 3:1; Acts 6:4, Acts 13:3).
The second “P”is for proclaiming the Word, both the living and written.
Third, praise the Lord! The first two will cause the third.
Fasting without prayer is like skipping a good meal, including the vegetables, because you’ve got your eye on the dessert.
John Cloud serves St. Paul Baptist Church as Associate Pastor.
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Our dull senses can miss what God’s doing around us!
January 17th, 2010
By Tim Barnes
Throughout this fasting experience, my mind has often recalled a story in the Old Testament about the prophet Elisha. While being pursued by an enemy king, Elisha woke up one day to find his city completely surrounded by the enemy forces.
Seeing what appeared to be a hopeless situation, Elisha’s servant cried out, “What shall we do?” The prophet’s reply was direct and confident, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16). Then Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes would be open. What he saw was spectacular…. an army of horses and chariots of fire, filling the hills and dwarfing the enemy army.
It amazes me how dull our senses can become through our routines and appetites, often missing all that God is doing around us. My prayer has been that through this time of fasting, God will open our eyes, sharpen our senses, remove our fear, and show us all that He wants to do in and around us. I hope that is your prayer as well.
Tim Barnes serves as the Executive Pastor at Richwoods Christian Church.
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Why am I persistent in prayer?
January 16th, 2010
By John Chaney
This morning as I read in Luke 18 the parable of the persistent widow, I was again forced to admit that I just don’t understand God. If even an uncaring, disconnected judge will eventually give a needy person what they need, why does it seem that my loving, caring, involved God sometimes doesn’t deliver even after my persistent prayers and petitions?
During my annual 21 day fast, I have been praying for years for my brother to commit his life to Christ. I have also been begging God for over three years to heal my wife of the severe pain that she experiences daily in her lower back and hip. I fasted and asked God for the healing of my good friend who recently died. The biggest problem I have is that I want to make sense out of it. I understand my brother’s situation easier because there is free will involved, but … God won’t you intervene and woo him to yourself like you did me. Why my wife? Why my godly friend who died?
Sometimes I just wonder—why am I praying?
Hey, I’m just being real. I choose to persist in prayer anyway. I KNOW God is good. I know God is NOT like the judge who ignored the widow until he couldn’t stand the nagging any more. Luke 18:7 tells us “how much more will God, who loves his people, care for their requests.” It may not appear that way through the small window that I am looking through at times. My trust in God is not just based on my short 39 years of walking with him and these specific prayer requests. My trust in God is based on his character and his promises that have historically been proven to be trustworthy, over thousands of years and in my life. I know he hears me and will rescue me …. eventually (Psalm 55:16-17). He is good.
The delay of answers to prayer or the lack of answers are in fact answers for now. There is a reason for these answers and they are good reasons. I just don’t understand them and I may never will. We look through a glass dimly for now. But I’m OK with that because I know God is good even though life is hard.
John Chaney is the Establish Pastor for Northwoods Community Church.
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