Posts Tagged ‘21 Day Fast’

Six Months In

We began 2010 with a 21-day season of prayer and fasting. Our prayer was a simple one: “Only God.” Read the rest of this entry »

The First 31 days of 2010

It’s been a busy first month of the new decade at Buckhead Church.

Here’s a quick overview:

581 people got connected into a small group.
Over 100 people signed up for Starting Point.
Over $73,000 given to Haiti relief.
3,000 of us gathered to pray for Haiti, Buckhead and each other at our first Night of Worship in 2010.
21 days of fasting and prayer.
We launched our first series of the year, “Taking Responsibility for your Life.”

There’s a whole lot more, but the question of the day on February 1 is this:

Looking back on January, how were you encouraged or challenged to grow in your relationship with Jesus?

To get us started, this response is from Brian Fosse regarding the 21-day fast:

My wife and I fasted from spending money on anything other than food and gas since food wasn’t a good option for us. Through the fast we came to realize how all-consuming consumerism was in our lives. We didn’t expect that because we have a budget and stick to it for the most part. However, it wasn’t just about the money, but our thoughts, time and energy. When you’re not spending money, then you’re not getting on the computer reading reviews and comparison shopping. You’re not taking a quick trip to Target or Home Depot and then spending the rest of the weekend on a do-it-yourself project. Instead, we found more time to “just be”. We got more rest, went on more walks and gained a renewed appreciation for all of the gifts of life that are freely given to all of us – like the faithfulness of a new day. Keri was reading in Luke 12 this morning about the parable of the rich fool and about worry. Jesus said, “…where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The fast made us aware of the extent to which our heart has been with our stuff. Now the challenge going forward is to heed Jesus’ words and provide for ourselves treasure that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven. This is the focus of our fast – we will work towards that treasure, 1 of the 300,000 at a time.

So, how about you? How did the first month of 2010 impact your relationship with Jesus?

Reflecting on our 21-day journey

One of the most important parts of a fast happens afterwards. Reflecting back on the journey and capturing what you’ve learned and experienced is vitally important. I want to encourage you to do that today. Comment on the blog and let us know what God showed you during this journey.

To get us started, I asked Tami Shields to go first. Tami is a wife, aunt and teacher. As important as those roles are, God used this fast to remind her of an even greater truth about herself and her Heavenly Father….

“When I considered participating in the 21 day fast I began researching what the essentials of a fast were. I knew I would give up something, and I would pray. Several people indicated that getting into the Word helped them focus and pray. So I decided that during these 21 days I would read through the book of Isaiah.

Throughout my daily reading I kept thinking, “How stupid were these people?” God kept showing up in their lives and rescuing them, then two chapters later they were back at their false idols and old tricks. Then a few chapters later they would come back, sing of redemption, then they were off again. I kept thinking, “Boy are these people lucky they are the promised people! Otherwise they’d be done!” It wasn’t until I came to chapter 58 that I began to see, really. It is this chapter where he says the people are “seeking Him out”, “eager to know his ways“ and wondering why God doesn’t see them in their “fasting” and “humility”. He goes on to explain that if you “do” the right thing but don’t have the heart and the actions behind it, it means nothing. So in today’s words: just going to church on Sunday mornings and singing, doesn’t mean you have worshipped or learned about God. Sitting and reading a devotion doesn’t mean you have internalized the message and will apply it. Just as the people of Israel openly defied what they knew was right, they also internally defied while giving the appearance that they were doing what was pleasing to the Lord. And yet, He forgave and redeemed these hard-headed people. Whether their defiance was open or internal, He forgave.

So what did I learn while I was fasting? I am Israel. I am coming to the Lord for the millionth time, praising Him for protecting me through the stupid things I have chosen to do, thanking Him for the strength it will take to deal with the consequences of those decisions, and asking Him to help me. Help me to stop worrying about finding ways to get the world to fall in love with me, and start finding ways that I can fall more in love with Him. For me, this means finding ways to love all that He has created and serving all that is His.

Isaiah 58:9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

I am Israel. I am a hard-headed, sinful, and guilty child of an unbelievably loving and redemptive Father whom I am learning to fall deeper in love with.

So, what have I learned? God loves me. Not only does He love me, but he wants to have a intimate relationship with me. That’s why He keeps calling me back, why He waits for me to ask Him for his input, and why He wants me to be all that I can be. I am Israel, and loved by my God!

What have you learned?”

Day 21: We Made It!

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Day 20: Dependent Living

Do you find yourself living more dependently during your fast? Do you find yourself calling out to God more and depending on yourself less?

It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about during my fast. Recently, during a trip to visit our partner church in Estonia, I found myself sitting on a plane in a snowstorm in Germany. The temperature was well below freezing, visibility was terrible and there was an hour wait for the de-icing trucks. As I sat on the plane, already in awe of how it ever gets off the ground on a normal day, I thought “How does it take off safely in this kind of weather?’

Once again, I was in a place of dependence. The uncomfortable truth is none of us are as in control of things as we like to think. We have the illusion of control. As I sat on the plane, I told God what He already knew. “Lord, I have no control of how this goes. You are in control.” I didn’t need to remind God of this. I needed to remind me.

During this fast I feel a much greater dependence. I am fasting from a couple of things that I want now, but I am depending on God’s strength to get me through. Each time He has done it. Each time I wait, strength rises up within me. We often sing the song “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord”. We sing it but have we experienced it?

When I recognize and embrace the truth of dependent living, I find myself thinking, “How can I live every day of my life in complete dependence on God?” Instead of being reliant on Him every now and then, for this relationship or that meeting, how can I depend on Him each day?

This is what I want for 2010, and the rest of my life. I want to depend on the God who created me, sent His son to die for my sins and now lives in me. I want to depend on Him to give me courage to invite more people to my dinner table that live in my condo building. I want to depend on God to give me the eyes to see people who are hurting and need a friend. I want to depend on God to help me to see more opportunities to get to know the 300,000 people that are in desperate need of Him in our city and that He would give me the love to love them.

And so, as uncomfortable as it may be, I am not in control. I am dependent. But this much I do know – His strength rises up when I kneel down. Dependent. Waiting. Living.

Rod Brown