Don’t get weirded out, but you need to know that people are watching you. They have seen you eating fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts and they are paying attention to what happens in your life as result of this 21-day journey.
People always have their eye on Jesus’ followers. In Acts 16, the Bible tells us that around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening (Acts 16:20).
The sound of thunder could be heard from miles away, yet there were no clouds in the sky. The hooves from Pharaoh’s horses were closing in on the Israelites. Pharaoh and six hundred of his best chariots, along with every available soldier, were making their way toward the traveling multitude of emancipated slaves.
What obstacle do you need the Lord’s power to work through today? What situation or challenge have you lacked the faith to ask for in prayer? Jesus says the smallest amount of faith will produce big results. And those results will have a direct impact on increasing your faith to pray with greater confidence and boldness for the impossible to become possible.
Nothing lasts forever. Christians understand that there are eternal realities, but they also recognize that our time on earth is fleeting. As one man said, “The minutes go slowly but the years go quickly.” This is why the Apostle Paul writes about the necessity of “making the most of every opportunity.” (Ephesians 5:16a NIV).
The average adult makes 35,000 decisions a day. From the moment your alarm sounds, your decision-making process begins. With so many decisions to make, it can be hard to know where to spend your time, but the Apostle Paul provides valuable insight into fulfilling God’s will in our lives. He tells us never to stop praying.
The average adult makes 35,000 decisions a day. From the moment your alarm sounds, your decision-making process begins. With so many decisions to make, it can be hard to know where to spend your time, but the Apostle Paul provides valuable insight into fulfilling God’s will in our lives. He tells us never to stop praying.
Given a choice, most people want fresh: fresh produce, fresh coffee, fresh air, fresh ideas, fresh perspective, fresh faith--it’s just better. But, freshness in your spiritual life doesn’t happen automatically or by accident; it has to be cultivated. Counterfeit pathways to internal freshness we desire are advertised all around us, yet the real thing only comes one way.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
In Ezra 8, God’s people were on a journey back to Jerusalem. They were bringing with them items of gold and silver to be used in the worship of God at the temple. Because the roads were terrorized by bandits, Ezra feared for the safety of his people and was concerned they might be robbed. But rather than approaching the king to help with this matter, Ezra believed the Lord would come through so he called the people to fast and pray. Sure enough, God responded to their earnest prayers and protected them!
There is nothing like fasting to remind you of your weakness, but there is also nothing like fasting to remind you where real strength is found. The Psalmist points us to the true source of strength when he declares in Psalm 62:11,
“God said this once and for all; how many times have I heard it repeated? ‘Strength comes straight from God’.”
“In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel…it concerned a great war. At that time, I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month…” (Daniel 10:1-4a NIV)
