Day 15: Outlive the Lie
Reading for Today
Genesis 37: 29-35
Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?” Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!”
No one enjoys a good, intellectual debate like me, but wisdom has taught me that debates and/or conversations work best only when both parties are willing to be open enough to receive and send information. There have been times in the past where I would waste time and energy trying to convince others to feel the way that I did, but the other party would be so convinced of the evidence that they were presenting, either for me or against me, that they almost convinced me to be skeptical of the very things that I knew for a fact to be true or not true. You see, it was not that I was uncertain of what I believed, but the stubbornness of their heart to receive from me almost acted as a sifter to reveal the parts of me that were not as convinced of what I believed as I should have been. So let me free you just a little bit. When you know the truth, don’t buy into the lies that others are selling. Don’t feel pressured to be who people said you are. Joseph comes to a place in his life where he is attacked by his brothers, not only do they sell him into slavery, but they go back to his father Jacob and convince the father that Joseph is dead.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a few times in my life where people have tried to convince me that I was something other than what God said. They looked at me in my situation and they thought their attack on me had worked and so they were convinced that I was dead. Joseph’s brothers tried to convince Jacob that his son Joseph was dead, but I’m here to tell you today that just because people call you dead, doesn’t mean you really are. Even when they produce their false evidence, when they produce the stuff that you used to have and the stuff that you used to do, don’t feel like you have to attend the fake funeral that people have set for you. When God has chosen you, He will guide and protect you. I believe with all my heart that greatness slammed down to the ground will one day rise again.
Fasting Tip: Create a list of scripture- based declarations to speak over yourself daily. Let them remind you to see yourself the way God sees you.
Day 14: B!G Steps
Check out this WKND’s message from Pastor Mike, Jr.! Are you ready to take B!G Steps???
Day 8: Nothing is Impossible
Reading for Today
Matthew 17:14-20 (NLT)
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the final quarter and we needed a first down to secure the game. The opposing team had the momentum and was threatening to take the win. I felt the pressure of the moment, but I will never forget the words I said to our quarterback, “Throw me the ball.” I remember this moment because I can still see the shock on the faces of my teammates. The normally mild-mannered guy was all of a sudden confident and demanding. Thankfully, I rewarded their confidence in me by beating my defender and sealing the game.
I love to remember that moment. It means a lot to me because it was proof that I had grown. It was proof that I had made the right adjustments from my past failures. It was proof of a lesson learned.
“Our greatest victories are often birthed from our greatest failures.”
In Matthew 14, the disciples face what some would consider an epic failure. They have been hand-picked and trained by Jesus Christ. They have watch Jesus perform miracles and they have insight into His purpose and power. Finally, they have an opportunity to serve and show what they have learned, and they fall short. When someone in need comes to them, they lack the faith to make a difference.
This has always been one of my greatest fears. What happens when opportunity shows up and we are unable to step up to the moment? What if someone I love needs prayer and I have no idea how to pray? What if God wants me to heal someone who is sick and I’m afraid. What if God tells me what to say to encourage someone and I’m too nervous to speak up? This was the situation the disciples found themselves in.
Thankfully, Jesus has a solution for those of us who face periodic struggles with stepping into the moment.
The path to greatness lies not only in believing in yourself, but in believing in Jesus.
We’ve made it to week 2, now set your focus on putting your faith in Jesus. Fasting is meant to lessen our dependence on the flesh and the seen world so that we can see the true power of the unseen. Walk by faith, not by sight as you discover that nothing is impossible with God.
Fasting Tip: Develop a list of people you are praying for and pray about how God might want to use you to serve them in the future.
Day 7: Write it Out
Reading for Today
Matthew 8:5–13 (NLT)
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
We started this year with the mantra, that it’s going to be B!G! We’re on day 7 of our fast and truth be told, I don’t know about you, I’m more convinced than ever that there is something B!G that’s about to happen! But let’s face it, it’s hard. It’s hard to keep on praying, it’s hard to deny flesh! But the truth of the matter is, we have to latch on to one key factor, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE GOD! When we approach him with undivided belief, we find ourselves entering a new place of intimacy. Belief leads to a level of intimacy, that’s unmatched and unparalleled.
Allow me to clarify what I’m communicating. When I say believed, I am not simply saying that God wants to be believed in, I’m saying God wants to be believed. Believing in the existence of God is where we start but not where we should end. Belief in a cosmic creator in my opinion is logical and not necessarily spiritual and has little to no practical impact on our life. The Bible says demons believe and they tremble. When I say God wants to be believed, I’m divulging that
God deeply desires that we believe that He is exactly who He says He is and He will do exactly what He says He will do. This type of belief is what the Bible calls faith.
The Centurion of Matthew 8 is a prime example of having the right kind of faith. We know he believed in God because he broke away from his regular schedule to pursue Jesus. Somewhere in his journey, he decided that Jesus was more than just a man. However, his faith didn’t stop there. After Belitung God, he also showed that h believed God. At the mere Words of Jesus he goes home expecting that things were exactly as promised. Here is the point,
Believing in God can bring you to Jesus, but believing God can bring you to your miracle.
We must believe in both the nature and ability of God!
Believing God moves us from theory to practice. It causes us to act like we already have what we have asked for.
Fasting Tip: Yesterday we started a journal to remember the things we are asking for. Today, there’s a new challenge, write down God’s resume. By doing this, it allows you to dig into a spirit of gratefulness which allows us to see yet another dimension of who He is.
Day 6: Try Jesus
Reading for Today
Mark 5:25-34 (NLT) A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
Some time ago I came down with a lingering cough. This was not your run of the mill cough as it lasted about 3 months! In my quest to get better I tried several things. First, I did nothing. I just waited to see if it would dissolve on its own. For some reason this is my default. I tend to hope that most situations will take care of themselves. When waiting didn’t work, I decided to try some over the counter medicine. You know, the generic stuff. I took what the bottle prescribed and hoped what worked for everyone else would work for me too. No luck. Next I tried a quick care center. My thought was that they would have seen my symptoms before and would prescribe me some stringer medicine. However, months later I still had the cough. Finally, after being stubborn for some time I set an appointment with my primary care doctor. After all, he had my records, he knew my history and he was best equipped to help me. It was no surprise that he knew exactly what to do to cure my cough.
Many times, we make the mistake of self-diagnosing our issues or allowing those who don’t know us well enough to offer their generic solutions to what ails us.
Whether you know it or not, untreated issues in your life can hold you back. The unhealed parts of your life can cause you to pull away from the right things and move closer to the wrong things. The woman in Mark 5 had experienced this too. She had spent so much on solutions that would never work. When we remain unhealed, we can waste several things.
Time- Something that should have last a week lasted more than a decade. This woman wrestled with her issue for more than 12 long years.
Money- The scripture says she spent ALL of her money on people who could not help her.
Energy- This woman had gone from place to place seeking help, only to find herself in a worse situation.
Finally, after many failures, she makes her way to Jesus and there she finds healing. Instantly,
Jesus healed the issue she brought to Him. Likewise, healing is available to you too.
As you walk through day 6, continue to pray through the places in your life where you need healing. When you come to Jesus in faith, He is ready and willing to heal you. While earthly things can offer us temporary comfort, lasting healing must come from above. If you would be willing to come to Jesus, He is faithful to meet you where you are and heal the broken places inside of you.
Fasting Tip: Start a journal to write your prayer list. Making a list helps you be reminded of what you are expecting from God.
Day 5: It's Gonna Happen
Reading for Today:
Genesis 22:14 (NLT) Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Here we are, day 5 of the fast! Today may seem just a little harder than it’s been, but that’s ok! Trust the process and remember, it’s bigger than you! Just like the people we meet in today’s reading. We all have heard of Abraham. Personally, this is one of my favorite stories when it comes to the life of Abraham. By this point Abram has met God, left home, made mistakes but once again he’s back in the will of God. God comes to him and tells him in no uncertain terms, trust me enough to give me the one thing that you always wanted.
God told Abraham to take his son and sacrifice him on the mountain. Without hesitation or a second thought, Abraham packed up Isaac and headed to the mountain. Now I’ll be the first to admit that this was crazy scary! But imagine the amount of faith it took! The one thing Abraham asked God for, a son, he is now requesting of him. In my flesh, I know I would have questions. However, Abraham simply gathers his son and takes him up the mountain. It starts to get interesting…Isaac says to his father, I see the tools, but I don’t see the sacrifice. It seems without a second thought; Abraham replies to Isaac that God will provide. The thing I love is that Isaac has been exposed to God and to the process and he knows what is about to happen, but he never considers that he might be the process. Once they reach the mountain Abraham goes up the mountain with Isaac. PAUSE! The first principle we can raise here is the fact that he left behind anyone who could be a doubter and deter his process. The same is true for us as we journey through this fast. We have to be ok leaving behind those who can’t or won’t help us!
They (Abraham and Isaac) go up the mountain. Once they reach the top. Abraham ties his son up and places him on the altar. Now this is where I see major tension in the text. Most scholars agree that Isaac was not a little child at the time this happened. Isaac is believed to have been a teenager. Look at the faith that’s already been implanted in his life. Isaac allows his father to tie him up and place him on the altar. Here’s another principle for us, we have to be willing to not only sacrifice that which we deem to be important, we need to be willing to be the sacrifice! We can’t continue to say, it’s bigger than us, but still feel that everything has to revolve around us.
Abraham draws to kill his son when an angel stops him and provides him with a ram instead. In this place of surrender, the angel says to him because I know you fear God look and there was provided a sacrifice. The lesson for us here is to trust God no matter how ward it seems. No matter the cost, remember, in His time, He will provide. When fasting, you have to remember that our flesh is continually on the altar. It’s difficult but even in this, God is making a way. Today, let’s praise the God who always provides!