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Day 3 -There is no darkness…

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“His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” –Matthew 28:3 NIV

The angel that appeared by the tomb of Jesus Christ, the one that rolled the stone away, had an appearance of lightning and “his clothes were white as snow”.

There was no doubt in the mind of the women that went to the tomb that this was a messenger from God. You see, when you see lightning, it pierces the darkness. Even if it is daytime,  lightning brightens up the place. When lightning strikes, it draws your attention to brightness.

“His clothes were white as snow” – the angel was wearing clothes that had no shadow, shade, stain, or darkness.

“His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” – The women knew that this was a messenger from God because there was no darkness about him.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 NIV

Every message that we receive, every messenger we accept, if they are from God, there will be no darkness about them.

Who are you getting your messages from? Who are you going seeking for direction and counsel?

“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ”  1 John 1: 6 NIV

Are you being a messenger from God? Are you telling His Story? Will the people around you believe you because there is no darkness in you?

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all  sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 1: 7-10 NIV

God does not require us to be perfect but He does command us to be obedient. It is not that we will never do anything that will dishonor God, although we strive everyday to honor Him.  It is not that we will never miss the mark, although we endeavor to live a life without sin.  It is that we must promptly recognize that we have fallen short and confess before God and sometimes to one another.

Unconfessed sin is darkness in us and gives satan, the prince of this world, a hold on us. 1 John 5:18 NIV  John 14:30 NIV

Pray Hebrews 4: 16  Psalm 51

“Heavenly Father, I thank You for your love for me. I thank You that you have given me the privilege to approach You with confidence, knowing that You will be merciful towards me and will help me when I need it. I need to be a light in the dark places. I need to have no darkness in me. Forgive me, Lord,  for thinking, saying, acting in a manner that does not honor you and for not being the light in all circumstances.

Have mercy on me, O God!  Cleanse me Lord and I will be clean. Create in me a pure heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Use me as your messenger of Good News. Let the enemy find no darkness in me.

I want to tell my story for others to know that Jesus died for them, that Jesus lives, and that  He has risen that they may have eternal life with God!

 

 

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Day 2 -Perhaps it needs to shake…

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“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.”

–Matthew 28:2 NIV

Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the tomb looking for Jesus and what they found was that the earth had shaken and an angel had come down from heaven, rolled to the side the stone that covered the tomb and then proceeded to sit on the stone.

“There was a violent earthquake” prior to Jesus, the Light of the World piercing through the darkness of death.

The director’s script could have read like this:

Earth, quake! Enter angel. Angel approaches stone and rolls stone out of the way. Following this, the angel sits on stone, nonchalant.

What an entrance!

The angel could have done it quietly, inconspicuously. That’s how we may want God to do things in our lives. Our way. Quietly. After all perhaps if God takes care of things quietly and fast enough, well then, no one has to know the “tomb” that’s holding us back or the “stone” thats preventing our deliverance.

But “There was a violent earthquake” !

God wants to work in your life –His way not your way. His way may include an outrageous, loud, public display of His power. Removing the obstacles in your life that keep you from living a life of deliverance, a life of freedom, is an easy thing for God to do. However, that which is hidden needs to come to light and exposed so that is stripped of all power.

Perhaps there needs to be a “violent earthquake” for you to come to the realization that:

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”  Colossians 2: 13-15 NIV

Will you allow God to do whatever He needs to do to remove the “stone” in your life and set you free from whatever is holding you back?

Perhaps it needs to shake in your life…Now,”violent earthquake” is no fun. It is unsettling, frightening and renders you with the feeling of powerlessness. Do not fret because of the earthquake but rejoice that the angel of the Lord is showing up.

Pray Psalm 77: 13-17  Proverbs 3:5-6

Oh, Heavenly Father, I have called upon You and I wait on You.  Forgive me for wanting You to do things my way. Your ways, God, are holy. You are a great God who performs miracles and display Your power among the peoples.  When You show up on the scene, waters split, they recede, they convulse. So God, show up in my life! Do what needs to be done that I may be seriously passionate about my faith. Let what needs to be shaken, be shaken, roll away what needs to be rolled away. 

I trust in you Lord with all my heart and I will not try to figure it out myself. I submit completely to You. You will guide me and straighten out my paths.

Lord, have your way in my life. I Surrender all to you! 

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Day 1 -Looking in Dead Places

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“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.”  Matthew 28:1 NIV

These women had witnessed how Jesus had brought healing, deliverance and a message of hope to the people around them. Mary Magdalene had personally experienced Jesus’ miraculous touch in her life and her own deliverance. Yet when “at dawn of the first day of the week” they went to look for Jesus in the tomb.

Today is the first day of the 21 days of Prayer & Fasting. You have known God’s faithfulness in your life. You have experienced Jesus’ salvation and His deliverance. You have known the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps you have not fully experienced all of His deliverance. You are still uncertain when the Holy Spirit is leading you. Nevertheless, in this first day of the 21 day of Prayer & Fasting don’t revisit your dead places.

Dead places are those circumstances, situations and experiences in your life that cast shadow over you, engulf you in the hopelessness of no tomorrow and limit your ability to rise up with Jesus.

Today, as you pray, do not pray your past or your present. Declare your future.

Today, “at the dawn of the first day”,  look up towards the heaven from where your help comes.

Pray Psalm 121.

“God, you are the Maker of heaven and earth, my help comes from you. I will lift my eyes to you. You, Heavenly Father, will not let me slip, you will watch over me. You, who do not sleep, You, oh, Lord you watch over me. You are a shade at my right hand -wow, Lord, you are my armor bearer!  Nothing obvious will harm me and nothing hidden will harm me. You watch over ALL my life. You are going to keep an eye on me whether I am coming or going, not just today but always!

Today, God, I am going to look for you among the living – smiles, acts of kindness, prayer moments, random compassion, deliberate forgiveness. Today, God, when people look for you, help me to introduce them to your Son, Jesus, who lives in me and when they seek to find Him, may they find Christ in me (Colossians 1:27), the hope of glory – the full manifestation of your love!”

Today, “at the dawn of the first day“, I declare I am no longer slave to death or fear, I am a child of GOD!

21 Days of Prayer & Fasting

09 Saturday Jan 2016

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We begin every year with a time of prayer and fasting. We choose 21 days and the Daniel Fast for our congregational fast at El Shaddai Bethlehem.

“The 21-Day Daniel Fast is a partial fast, based on Daniel 10:2-3 in the Bible, in which Daniel says he fasted for three weeks. During the fasting period, only certain foods are eaten. Prayer, meditation and giving the results of the fast to God are also important components of this fast.” – Casey Holley livestrong.com

Preparation requires commitment. Commit to be intentional about praying and fasting.

Set a specific time in the day when you will read your Bible, meditate on it and respond in prayer. Don’t overwhelm yourself by requiring of yourself to spend hours of daily prayers or to read several chapters of the Bible in one sitting. It is not about doing, it is about being. Being in the moment where your focus is on God, His Word and your response to Him.

Remember, abstaining yourself from food is not as important as making this season of prayer and fasting an opportunity to grow closer to God.

If you are not using a Bible Reading Plan, then I encourage you to check this blog daily for a Daily Devotional, January 10 – January 30, 2016.

I will be using the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 28 as the basis for this Devotional and I encourage you to memorize our 2016 Verse of the Year.

2016 Verse of the Year

“(19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

I pray that the next 21 days will provide for you the opportunity to grow closer to our Heavenly Father, discern the mind of Christ and become familiar with the leading of the Holy Spirit. May you be blessed to bless others.