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It ushers you into God’s presence. It brings you into closer fellowship with God. It is a secret source of power and connection to the Sovereign One. It will help you conquer the flesh and is often described as afflicting the soul. It is in essence sacrificing your personal will so that you may hear clearly from God and move forthwith.

Fasting can be done corporately or individually (David, Daniel, and Jesus etc). There is no right or wrong amount of time one should give to fasting. Daniel mourned for 3 full weeks, whereas the Day of Atonement fast was 24 hours and Jesus fasted 40 days. The Savior instructs us to fast unto the Lord, not to impress men as the Pharisees did. Fasting allows us more time to pray, teaches us self-discipline, reminds us that we can live with far less than we think and most important, it helps us to appreciate God’s gifts.

In the Old Testament, fasting was seen as a sign of repentance and was voluntary except for the Day of Atonement which was mandated for all of Israel. Fasting should always be accompanied by prayer and time spent meditating on God’s Word. Certainly you can fast without prayer. However when the two are combined with a sincere desire to touch the hem of His garment, the full effectiveness and power of the act is achieved. Dedicating a specific time to fast/pray is not meant to be a method of manipulating God into doing what we want. He is not Santa Claus.

Fasting forces you to focus and rely solely on God for strength, wisdom and provision. Simply put, when we fast and pray, we open our spirits to receive divine revelation from the Elohim God.  As you earnestly seek the Almighty’s presence through self-denial of food and/or liquids for a set period of time, you must activate your faith believing that your Father in heaven will respond and His glory will fill your temple. Make fasting more than abstaining from food. Put your focus on the thoughts of God—what He has willed and purposed for your life—and what He wishes to say to you.

Fasting is not a fad diet or a weight management program. We would be wise to look to biblical examples found throughout Scripture for guidance on how and when to fast. Moses fasted 40 days before receiving the Decalogue. Samuel called for a national fast when Israel sinned. Elijah fasted 40 days before speaking with God. David fasted and prayed for his sick child. Anna worshipped day and night, fasting and praying. The church at Antioch fasted and prayed before sending Paul and Barnabas out on their first missionary journey; they in turn fasted before appointing church elders.

How do I know if my fast is according to His will? Is what you’re praying and fasting for bringing honor and glory to God? Is it found in Scripture? Is your flesh being satisfied or crucified? Finally, we must be mindful that if our fasting, praying meditating and asking does not line up with God’s will and His Word, we have done nothing more than engage in futile bodily exercise, which profits naught.

Scripture references: NASB; Smith’s Bible Dictionary; Handbook of Bible Application

Ex 34:28; Lev. 23-32; Deut 9:9; 1 Sam 7:6; 2 Sam 12:16-17; 1Ki 19:8; 21: 9, 12; Ps 35:13; Isa 58:3; Dan. 10:2-3; Matt 4:2; 6:16-18; Lk 2:37

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I will look to the hills from where my help comes. For the God of my Salvation neither sleeps nor slumps and he shall not suffer my foot to be mover. I am not afraid of the terror by night nor the arrows that fly by day, because His angels have charge over me. The Lord is my keeper and the shade of my right hand. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, my strength, my deliverer and my strongtower. When the enemy comes upon me like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will protect me. If God be for me, He is more than the world against me.

Daily I will set the Lord before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.The Lord has given me power to tread upon serpents and scorpions. I have the power and authority through Christ Jesus to cast out demons and heal diseases. No weapon that is formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that dares rise against me, the Lord shall condemn. Jehovah Shammah is with me. Jehovah Gibbor fights for me and El Shaddai enures my victory.

I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me. I walk in steps that are ordered by God. Because He is my Shepherd, I shall have no wants. As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil, because the rod and staff of the Father are with me.  Because I dwell in the secret place of the Most High God and abide under the shadow of the Almighty, I am confident that He shall hide me in the day of trouble. I eagerly await the table that is prepared before me in the presence of my enemies. I  walk in an assurance that all things are working together for my good because I love God and I am called according to His purpose. We say thanks be to God who give s us the victory through Christ Jesus. Amen.

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It redeems, cleanses and saves. It removes the sting of death. It symbolizes an unshakeable and unbreakable covenant with the Father. It covers and protects. It defeats the enemy. Deliverance, forgiveness and healing are found in it. There is no atonement, reconciliation or remission of sin without it; for in both the Old and New Testaments blood was shed that sinful man might be reconciled to a holy God. It is one of the strangest, deepest, mightiest, and most heavenly of the thoughts of God. It is at the very root of both the Old and New Covenants; whereas the Old centered on the blood of beasts, the New is stamped with the precious Blood of the Lamb.

Through the shedding of blood, Abraham became God’s friend. In 1 John we find the blood is a purifier. Exodus 30:10 declares it makes atonement for our souls. Isaiah resoundingly lets us know that the Blood covers the crimson stain of sin and Genesis 4:10 tells us that the blood speaks.

The need of the Blood is to overcome the punishment for death. Scripture teaches that the soul that sins shall surely die and the wages of sin is death, therein the need for the blood that we might have eternal life. That life of the flesh according to Leviticus 17:11 is in the blood. The meaning of the Blood is demonstrated in the Day of Atonement when the sacrifice was slain in the outer court. This meant death. The high priest then took the blood, entered into the Most Holy place and sprinkled it on and near the Mercy Seat. This illustrated life. So it is with reference to Christ’s Blood. For Christ, the ultimate High Priest took His own blood to the true mercy seat — into God’s presence — and presented it for the remission of all sins, of all believers, of all time.

The power of the Blood exemplifies the punishment of sin being removed. In its place we have spiritual, natural and eternal life. The Blood cleanses us from guilt through Christ’s death.  It releases from us sin’s bondage through His resurrection and it abolishes the enmity of sin by Christ’s ascension. We have been sanctified, justified and made free by the Blood of the Lamb. Through Christ’s shed blood on Calvary’s cross sin, sickness, guilt, shame and death were defeated.

Pleading the Blood of Jesus is one of the most powerful weapons you can have in your arsenal as you wage war against the adversary. Because the devil is our accuser, the only successful plea is the Blood of Jesus. Simply put, to plead the Blood is to apply it to your life, much like Israel applied it to their door posts. It is to take hold of the authority and power given to us through Christ’s shed blood.

Songwriters remind us that the blood still washes. The blood still cleanses. And after all these things, the blood still has miraculous power. Remember, the Blood of Jesus stands ready to be sprinkled on the door post of your heart so that He may commune in sweet fellowship with you.

Scripture references: NASB; The Two Covenants & the Second Blessing, The Essentials of Life

Gen. 4:10, Ex 12:13-23; 30:10; Lev 14:5-7; 17:11; Ezek 18:4; Matt 26:28; Act 20:28; Rom 3:25; 5:19; 1Cor. 11:25; Eph 1:7; 2:13; Col 1:13-14; Heb 2:14; 9:22; 10:29; Rev; 12:11

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 As a person thinks in their heart, so they become. Literally, you are what you think and believe. Your personality is the sum total of your thoughts. You are today what your thoughts, beliefs, and convictions have made you. If your mind is filled with thoughts of trouble, fear, failure, and anxiety, then this will be reflected in what you say, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Remember, salvation began as a thought in your mind before it ever became a reality in your spirit. The greatest battlefield your will ever face is in your mind.

We cannot separate our thoughts from our temptations. Every fight is won or lost based on what you think. Satan targets your mind and peppers it with lies. You no longer think on those things which are lovely and pure. You no longer meditate on God’s word. Instead, you begin to focus on the world and believe that God’s will and purpose for your life will not come to pass. But you must stand on Jeremiah 29:11 believing that the Lord knows the thoughts that He thinks toward you, and that you have an expected end.

We must correct our thinking habits, for our thoughts are the seeds we plant in the garden of our mind that will produce the harvest which we will reap. When you think on word of God and the things of God, you will begin to see things from a heavenly reality rather than an earthly perspective. As such, you will call those things that are not as though they were. You will activate your faith based on what you think. The result will be in you walking in the manifested Word of God and receiving the blessings of God. Allow the Holy Spirit renew and transform your mind and your thoughts will follow.

Whatever we think that is not in the purpose, plan and path of God’s will for our life will not bear fruit. At least four times in Scripture, we are told that man’s thoughts outside of God’s will are futile. Do not be deceived by the wiles of the enemy as Eve was. If you do your thoughts will neither be of God or from God. The serpent was able to convince Eve to first doubt God and then deny His Word.

Always remember, what you think determines what you believe. What you believe determines what you say. What you say you will eventually do. What you do will determine your character. And your character determines your destiny.

 Scripture references: KJV, NASB, NCV; The Strategy of Satan, Dr. Hobart Freeman

Ps 94:11; Pro 21:7; 23:7, Jer. 29:11; Matt 12:34; Rom 1:21; 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 3:19; Eph 4:17; Phil 4:8;

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Scripture of the Day: Romans 12:2 (NASB)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that not only do I have the mind of Christ, but that I hold the thoughts, feelings and purposes of His heart. I thank You that I shall prosper and be in good health, even as my soul prospers. I trust in You with all my heart; and I lean not to my own understanding, but in all my ways I acknowledge You, for You have promised to direct my path.

Today, I submit myself to Your Word and I say that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart shall be acceptable to You, because You oh Lord, are my strength and my redeemer. I thank You that the weapons of my warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of all strongholds.

I mind is transformed and renewed through the Blood of the Lamb, for I will prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Your Word, Lord, shall never depart from my mouth, but I shall meditate on it day and night, that I may observe to do according to all that is written therein.

This day, I fix my mind on what is true, honorable, worth of reverence just and lovely. I commit all the works of my hands to You, for you will cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will and so shall my plans be established in Your Kingdom. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Scripture of the Day: Job 12:13 (NASB)
 “With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding.

Gracious Father and Lord, I thank You that Your Word gives knowledge, wisdom, instruction and understanding to all who heed its truths and seek after it. You promise to impart wisdom to Your children if we listen and walk upright before You. Therefore, we enter Your presence with trust, knowing and believing that You will give us wisdom according to II Chronicle 1:10. Dear Lord, fill us with the spirit of wisdom so that we be able to discern Your will and purpose for our lives. Let us always speak with wisdom because of the righteousness You have imparted to us according to Psalm 37:30 in the name of Jesus.

In the hidden part of our spirit, make us know Your wisdom. Teach us to number our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Gaining Your wisdom is better than fine gold or precious rubies. We are made glad in our hearts because by wisdom, You founded the earth, and by knowledge, You established the heavens. We thank You because daily You impart You enlighten me with Your understanding so that I may know Your calling, and the riches of Your exceeding greatness. We thank You for Your Son Jesus who represents Your power and wisdom to us. Be we are in Him and desire to always abide in Him, we have been made the righteousness of You. We glory in Your forever and praise Your forevermore. Amen

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 Wisdom is defined as the infinite, perfect comprehension of all that is or might be as found in and through God.  In its simplest form, wisdom is the ability to discern right from wrong. It is much sought after, often claimed and seldom attained. Wisdom is a divine gift for those who seek the Giver.

If godly wisdom is to be exercised, we must first begin with a fear of the Lord. We must exhibit a reverence for the sovereignty of God and who He is as the creator and sustainer of the universe. Proverbs tells us that wisdom is available to all, but her price is high. Wisdom, understanding and righteousness are intertwined. For the truly wise are obedient to God, patient, reliable, humble, diligent, perceive things as they really are and have love. True wisdom must have God as its center, starting from and ending in Him.

Wise men give the things of God more attention than they do worldly affairs. Wisdom needs God’s explicit grace for its cultivation. When man trusts simply to his own attainments he is bound to go awry, for the Bible admonishes us to lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths. We are warned not to forsake wisdom, because she is our protection. We are to love her, and she will watch over us. The writer of Proverbs tells us that wisdom is more than a thing, she communicates and has character.

Wisdom comes with maturity and trust in the Lord, and knowing His will and His Word. True wisdom does not come from man’s philosophies or ideas. In faith, wisdom is ours for the asking. According to Proverbs 13:20, if you want wisdom, walk with the wise. We must remember, like spirits attract and water will seek its own level. As such, he who has a fool as a companion will thus become foolish.

Wisdom is: despised by fools; has its beginnings and strength in fearing the Lord; an attribute of God; and is more precious than rubies and gold. Wisdom brings: peace and joy; protection and deliverance; a reward to all who acquire her; and God’s favor to your life. Walking in wisdom will bring us in right relationship with God, with others and with ourselves. Wisdom brings meaning into our lives and frees us from the vacuum of a life spent toiling for money, power, status or material gain. Is your life filled with the wisdom of God or the folly of man? To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Scripture references: NASB, NCV, The Treasury of David, ISBE

Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 3:13-18; 2:5; 9:10; 13:20;  Romans 16:27; James 1:5

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What constitutes sin? Is every wrongdoing sin? Does everyone sin? Is it possible to live a life free of sin? Does God hate one sin more than another? What’s the difference between sin, transgression and iniquity? These are all questions we have either asked or heard. Sin and its consequences are not often preached in church today. Yet, even a cursory reading of the Bible will open your eyes to the realization that there such a thing as sin, and it is not pleasing in God’s sight.

Scripture teaches that we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Paul calls sin a yoke of bondage and says it will easily beset and entangle us. All sin is disobedience and is contrary to God’s will. Galatians 5:19-21 gives a clear description of what sin is. In it we see that following the desires of your sinful nature will result in: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, unbridled anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, and other sins. We are warned that those who live accordingly will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Sin is freely chosen. We willingly decide to step outside of the boundaries God has set and walk according to our own design. The Bible reveals that whoever commits sin, commits lawlessness. We have become a people without regard for God or His law. The urge to satisfy our flesh comes before our desire to please God. To sin is to miss the mark. To commit a transgression is to willfully rebel. According to Rebecca Brown, author of Unbroken Curses, iniquity is a residual consequence of sin that affects both the sinner and his seed. Iniquity is driven by a condition of the heart and involves wickedness, unrighteousness, transgression and perversion.

Sin separates you from the Savior and the wages thereof is death. Sin is universal. It knows no race, color, creed or socio-economic status; for all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.  Throughout the Bible, we see examples of those who chose to answer the call of Satan and ignore the commands of God. Adam and Eve sinned their way out of the garden; God caused the earth to flood; Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone; Israel wandered for 40 years; Moses never entered the Promised Land; while both Israel and Judah were taken captive.

But blessed be the name of the Lord. We serve a just God who sent His Son to pay the price no human or animal sacrifice ever could. Scripture says, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. God so loved us, that He sent His only Son that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life. To overcome the stench, the stain and the sting of sin, we need only repent, confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead. We must accept the gift of salvation freely given by the perfect Sacrifice who hung on the cross, died and rose again—Jesus, the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world.

Scripture references: NASB; NLT, Unbroken Curses

Gen 3: 17-24; 6-8; 19:1-23; Nu 14:18; 20:12; 2Ki 17:1-24; 18; 24:10-24; Rom 3:23,  2 Cor. 5:21; Gal 5:19: 21; John 1:29

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 Trust is hard earned, easily lost and often nearly impossible to regain. We put our trust in family, friends, jobs, money, material wealth and the government. But Scripture admonishes us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways, we are to acknowledge Him, for He will direct our paths. Likewise, David promises if we trust God and walk upright before Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts.

To trust is to have an assurance that a person has both the ability and the willingness to come through for you. To trust says that the person or thing we believe in deserves our confidence. To trust a man suggests that we know the man; for it is foolish to trust one you do not know. The Psalmist says some trust in horses, some in chariots, but the truly wise have the Name of the Lord as their defense.

To trust God says you have absolute faith in God. To trust Him is often difficult because His ways do not always seem sensible to us. He told Noah to build an Ark when there had never been rain. He promised Abram and Sarai a baby, when each was well beyond child bearing years and never had a child been born to them. Trusting God says we accept that His ways are not ours and that He is not limited by space or time. Neither is He subject to or our whining and crying. We must trust Him because He is the I AM; the One who simply spoke and heaven and earth were created.

If we are to completely trust the Father, we must surrender our will, desires, ideas and all that we hope into His hands. For the Bible, says, He knew us before we were in our mother’s womb and He knows the plans He has for us. We must trust God, because in Him lies our purpose and destiny; our deliverances, victories and defeat. We will overcome because we choose to trust the One who is our strength and our song. Job put it best, though they slay me, yet will I trust in Him.

To trust Him is to stand, even in the face of great adversity or trials. We must understand that it is our very struggles that the Lord will use to test how deeply we are rooted and grounded in Him. Our faith and trust must be in our hearts, not just our head and mouth. We must trust in the Lord always, for in Him we have an everlasting Rock. We trust because in the Almighty we have an eternal stronghold wherein we can find refuge. We trust Him because He knows the way that we take and His mercy surrounds us.

Is your trust in man who has and will continue to fail? Or is your hope in the God of Your salvation who has promised to never leave or forsake you. Do you trust in the temporal trappings of life, or do you trust in things eternal?

Scripture references: NASB; The Treasury of David

Gen 6-8; Job 13:15; Ps 20:7, 31:4; 32:10; 65:5; 71:5; Prov 3:4-6; 28:26; Isa 12:2; 26:4; Jer 1:5; 29:11; Nah 1:7; Phil 3:3-4;

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For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods,

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