January 21st, 2012 by DMWC
Day 20: Pure of Heart - Imagine that you are at a concert! You are excited to see your favorite artist, but alas, you do not have the credentials to see them up close. From your position, based on your qualifications, you cannot 'see' your artist as much more than a distant blur on stage. The required credentials are 'P.I.H.' passes - Pure In Heart passes. There seems to be a premium on those who are 'pure in heart' and their ability to access the stage and 'see' the artist up close and in person.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 19th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 20: Mercy - In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was the most prized possession in all of Israel! It symbolized the tangible presence of God. It was crafted from pure gold, and it contained sacred items like the 10 Commandment tablets, a pot of manna, and Aaron's budding staff. It was covered with a gold slab that was adorned with two facing cherubim (angels). Directly between the cherubim was the space where the presence of God was believed to dwell.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 19th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 19: Crave Righteousness - Think of a specific time when you were desperately hungry or thirsty. Your stomach was growling, or your mouth was dry; and you were so agitated that you couldn't focus on anything other than your appetite. No matter how hard you tried, nothing could satisfy your discomfort until you fulfilled that desire, right? Well, in the same way, we should all have hearts that desperately crave the righteousness of God.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 18th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 18: Meekness - Meekness may be one of the most rare qualities in all of society today. In a world dominated by those who appear to be the strongest and loudest, anything short of aggression is viewed as weakness. For that reason alone, people may miss the true value of meekness. After all, who wants to be the puny nerd facing the wrath of the large schoolyard bully?
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 16th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 17: Mourning - If spiritual poverty is an "intellectual understanding", then mourning is the "emotion" that accompanies it. We typically associate mourning with the loss of a loved one, but in reality, it is much more significant. It is not simply based on regret for something unfortunate, but rather, it flows from an attitude that mirrors repentance.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 16th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 16: Spiritual Poverty - In Matthew 5, Jesus gives His most exhaustive teaching to His disciples - the Sermon on the Mount. In this teaching, He uses unique imagery to demonstrate the stark contrast between His value system and that of the world. His audience is primarily filled with commoners – those who fully understand the challenges of living in poverty. In fact, you can imagine the eager hope of each listener to hear some new revelation that might miraculously change his or her life and financial situation forever.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 14th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 14: Fruit - Today, we will reflect on our study up to this point on the fruit of the spirit. At this point, we have a 'fruit bowl' of character! We have journeyed through love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As with most gardens or farms, planting and harvesting is never over, there's just transitioning to different seasons for cycle to repeat with a different set of crops.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 13th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 13: Faithfulness - Many of us can recall the phrase, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Perhaps the first fruit that many of us ever tasted was an apple. An apple seems to be a staple in the American diet. Although many of us would prefer a slice of apple pie to a fresh apple slice, the fruit in its natural state is quite beneficial to the body. Yes, the apple can truly be of greatest benefit to the body when it is consistently consumed in the diet.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 12th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 12: Gentleness - Gentleness comes from sensitivity to the condition of others. In order to be gentle, we must first consider the unique needs of people. However, if we only focus on ourselves, it is impossible to be aware of the needs of others. In 2 Samuel 9, King David demonstrates a great example of this type of consideration.
Categories: Daniel Fast |
January 11th, 2012 by DMWC
Day 11: Self-Control - During this Daniel Fast, we are choosing to exercise control over our base physical appetites. This time of prayer and fasting allows us to increase our spiritual appetite for Him while decreasing our physical urges to eat certain foods. Matthew 4:4 says "… bread won't feed men's souls: obedience to every word of God is what we need". But controlling our hunger for a steak, a slice of pizza or our favorite dessert is only one aspect of self-control that we more intentionally practice during the fast.
Categories: Daniel Fast |