“LifeStyle Fasting”

 

I’d felt a burden last week to do something I’d never done.

I felt The Lord calling me to Fast. I’ve heard about fasting and I know it’s Biblical; I’ve read about it.

I really need to hear from God. I really need to receive His wisdom and clarity. I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t!?

Well, actually….I know that’s not true. I know the idea of hearing from God scares the pants off of a lot of people. Some agnostics, some new believers…

However, I’m not writing to make friends or “tickle” ears – I’m writing to Shine the Light of God’s truth. The truth that will set us all free….

There has been a lot happening around us as I’ve mentioned.

Trying to make sense of it, we’ll that’s another story. Sometimes, we won’t be able to make sense of anything. And sometimes, the only thing we’ll get is the Peace of God that He allows to fill us and keep us calm in the midst of the storm – that is if we ASK for it.

I believe there is a storm coming, friends. I don’t think there’s any other way to say it.

I know I’ve mentioned on previous blog posts the book, “The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn. Well, in the years ’01 and ’08…those events happened during a Shemitah year cycle. The Shemitah is part of the Hebraic calendar. If you haven’t read The Harbinger, I encourage you to read it.

Right now, I am in the middle of the sequel: “The Mystery of the Shemitah.”  To be honest, I’d never heard the term Shemitah before last year.

Even before I started reading the Shemitah I felt the call to fast, but once I started it I knew I had to try. The reason is that God is working on me. He wants every part of me. He wants me to lean on HIM fully and completely. He wants me to know what it feels like to TRUST him and have no hesitations in doing so.

Whatever is coming our way in the next 12 months…I pray that each of us is ready for it. I have asked God for mercy and for his protection. That being said, nothing may happen…but that’s not what history of the Shemitah has shown.

If God’s Word is true, if what I’ve learned about the Hebraic calendar is correct…based on the patterns that have been laid out so far – then I am going to do what God has asked of me and be the “watchman” on the wall and sound the “WaKE UP!” call. Get to know who Jesus is – T O D A Y.

Back to FASTing:

Anyhow, as I “entered” my feeble attempt at my fast last week…I felt like I didn’t know enough about it to do it successfully. That I didn’t understand the mechanics of doing it right.

I shared my first attempt with a friend, expressing my dissatisfaction with my effort. Fortunately this friend is both grounded in Christ and has fasted a good deal, because her words kept me from feeling defeated.

“There is no right or wrong way to Fast. Follow the direction of the Spirit. Let Him lead.”

I also hadn’t had a clue as to how to pray as I fasted or what to pray. I wasn’t sure how God wanted me to worship Him, or how to present myself to Him; for him to know I longed for his presence.

What I didn’t know kind of surprised me.

Prayer and Fasting do go hand in hand but they don’t always have to.

Prayer isn’t limited to bowing your head, hands folded, sitting in a church.

PRAYER is conversation with GOD.

A N D

Fasting isn’t limited to Food. It’s not limited to the time of Lent.

Fasting is about putting aside that which we idolize or depend on – and REFOCUSing our minds on Christ. Seeking Him to help us, feed us and nourish ourselves through HIS WORD.

Now, when matched up side by side, Prayer and Fasting are a combination that touch the heart of God – Right where HE is sitting on his Heavenly throne.

The real point of fasting is to take our WORLDLY focus and fixate on HIM.

Allow HIM to fill us UP completely and in doing so remaining prayerful that HE will speak to us and confirm within us, what we need to know.

What I didn’t realize is the way I live is more or less a form of “Lifestyle Fasting.”

I don’t need much…I am a simple person. The only thing I crave is to know Jesus more….

I am now looking to him to help me write this blog because I just can’t do it justice solo.

I listen for his voice throughout the day.

I’m mindful that with every bite of food I eat, someone somewhere has none.

I’m more fully reminded as time marches on that the enemy is out there on the prowl, scheming to steal, kill and destroy – And that is what keeps me going here…because

above all, I recognize how many lost souls there are, everywhere. Maybe reading, right now….

People who are willing to “put off” and procrastinate on the “Jesus” thing because they are too wrapped in THIS world to learn about HIS world.

The World HE made for You and me. To share THAT world with HIM.

 

Fasting and praying may not be for everyone…but Jesus is.  He’s here, today.

What will you do when you can no longer procrastinate, because the opportunity to say YES to HIM is gone?

Scoff if you will, But Jesus didn’t turn his back on the cross.

and Jesus wouldn’t turn his back on YOU – Just give him a chance.

Give Him a chance to change YOU and then go change your corner of the world!

 

Allow God to change you and discover the Light you were made to Shine!

Wherever you are, I pray you discover who you were meant to be as a Child of God….

and that you are blessed by HIS presence,

-Kenzel

 

 

 

 

Pressures of Purity: Why it Matters

 

 

Are we really hearing her or him? Are we really hearing each other and the cries for help all around us? Or are we allowing ourselves to be blinded?

Are we crying out for help to regain our rights and the part the Purity plays?

Purity: It has to be one of the hardest virtues for us to understand and adhere to.

But Why?

I remember being a teenager and 14, 15 (the highly overrated) 16 years old and on and on….

Hormones played a role but were only part of the big picture. Being a teenager or adolescent has to be the most misunderstood frame of time in a young person’s life. I’ll admit, I had more than my share of obstacles to deal with from 13-19!

But those pressures haven’t changed for kids today. Except that technological changes and social media have made current times a landmine of even greater challenges!

 

No one can escape what happens to their bodies with the onset of puberty – Hormones are what make us develop into the men and women we will become. However, I am less concerned about the physiological effects of hormones on the body. Purity should be your concern, OUR concern and our FOCUS.

Purity is about:

An Attitude

A Belief

A Covenant – A promise

Societal pressures and cultural norms tend to shape our WorldView. But this is a backwards approach.

You are a person – boy or girl – with a beating heart, a mind and a soul.

You have a purpose and your attitude plays a part in that purpose.

Purity seems like such a vague term, doesn’t it? I mean, the idea of Purity seems so out of date, right?

The concept of Purity is one of them and culture wants us to believe it’s been all but lost. I tend to think that might be true, but is it? Does it have to be?

Why are we being encouraged to shed the image of purity for something else? Is there a benefit? What are the costs?

I am not writing this to start a debate. This blog has never been about “stirring the pot.”

I am writing as one member of The Church Body. In this case, Casting Crown’s song “If we are the Body” best illustrates this point

 

 

As a member, I am here to Encourage. To share what God asks me to. To help us think about our decisions and then understand WHY we did what we did? To seek God for those questions whose answers elude us.

 

Our behaviors our thoughts and attitudes are often influenced by other sources: movies, tv, advertising, the internet, social media. We can’t escape all of it but we do need to understand the machine and how it works.

Purity starts with the mind. It all breaks down to what you allow yourself to see and to hear. What do you pay attention to?  Purity has little to do with matters of the heart.

Our state of purity was comprised in the Garden of Eden and we’ve struggled ever since.

Purity and Spirituality go hand in hand.

Mark 7:14-15 (NLT) describes Purity

¹⁴ Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. ¹⁵ It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.^[h]”

What this means is that we must take our minds and focus on the Purity of God’s promises, Redemption and Mercy. The reason? Eve was PURE before the serpent approached her. He decided to lie to her and appeal to her inner desires (the heart) but proposing something that would bring her downfall. If we heed Eve’s lesson and recognize that we must protect our minds and bodies from the influences that abound we have much less chance of falling prey to the enemy’s schemes. Whether he tries to tempt us through our sexuality, drugs, or other idols.

TRUE Purity is giving Jesus the benefit of the doubt and giving Satan a kick in the rear and showing him the door.

Purity is our responsibility: Keeping our Mind, Body and Soul pure is not an old-fashioned idea. But the enemy is on the cultural bandwagon to have society think otherwise.

Please remember these words:

Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

AND these words also

Matthew 18:3 (NLT)

³ Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Whether you are seeking redemption from an addiction, a habit, a hang up or struggling with food, anorexia/bulimia, loss of virginity or a host of other issues – YOU can win the struggle. Give God and Jesus a chance. There is a way. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

 

Dear Father,

Thank you for your unending love. For always being willing to give us a second chance. For loving us enough in spite of our sin to gift us with your Son. While we aren’t worthy on our own you make us worthy because of your grace. Shower me, cleanse me, sanctify me and help me to STAND against the forces of evil and sin.

You are the light I want to follow, strengthen me and help me to abide in YOU. Amen.

 

Purity can be yours, take back from the enemy what belongs to YOU!

-Kenzel