Recently in the last few weeks I have had to really challenge myself with this question. I feel many Christians and non Christians have asked this same question. When asking other Christians this question the common answer I received is that we fast for a purpose. I still felt I didn’t really understand what it meant.
In the Bible there are many verses that discuss fasting such as:
Isaiah 58 v 1-14 (In these verses the example of fasting is to be motivated by sincere faith and obedience to God’s moral law. In verses 6-7 fasting is explained not as a ritualistic obedience but instead to be an action such as feeding the hungry and clothing the poor and so forth).
Matthew 6 v 16-18 (Here fasting is an expression of our dependence on God. Fasting is described as an act of humility and submission to God’s will).
Matthew 9 v 14-15, Mark 2 v 18-20, Luke 5 v 35 (Christ speaks in these verses of how we shall fast when he is gone. Now that Christ is no longer physically with us we should fast because it aids in our spiritual development. Fasting increases our concentration in prayer as well as reminds us of our physical weaknesses and total dependence on God. Through fasting our spiritual awareness is increased strengthening our communication with God.)
Acts 13 v 2-3 (Fasting in scripture many times is described as a spiritual discipline. This may be to prepare people for ministry, symbolic of self sacrifices for God’s purpose, to better separate ourselves from concerns of the world and focus our minds on God).
(As you can see in many of the stories in the Holy Bible, one of the common reason for fasting is to be closer to God and open to his guidance).
I would like to share my personal experience with doing a water fast for two days last week. A water fast means you drink only water. During the times I would normaly being eating I use to just be with God. I talked to God, prayed, gave thanks to him, read some scriptures, wrote in my journal, asked for guidance and strength. I admit that I have not had many prior personal experiences with fasting. I have felt in the past that I could not fast because I am hypoglycemic, which means I have to eat regularly small snacks to keep my blood sugar in normal range. I knew that without the strength of God I personally would not be able to do this fast. I decided to fast because I wanted to be closer to God. I know in life God asks us to do things we think is impossible. We try to rationalize things instead of trusting in God (James 1v6). Only through the strength of God can we over come crises in our lives. Although many of us tend to want to hold the weight of the world on our own shoulders in all reality it would crush us. So I started my fast to lay down my rights as well as trusting in the Lord for strength and understanding. My first day of fasting was difficult at times. However it was waking up the second day that was the hardest. I was weak, nauseated and dizzy. God gave me strength to pull through the morning. I have never felt so close to God than during these times. I had to rely on him for strength and encouragement. I felt he was there with me, and at times I felt very emotional. God placed many things on my heart that I latter shared with our DTS team and leaders. I now know the importance of fasting and how significant its use can be in our lives.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Plumb Line and "Sole healing"
“WOW!” Where do I start? “God is AWESOME!”
So many great things have happen in the past 2 weeks I don’t know where to start. I will start with a verse of encouragement provided to me by a friend back in California just a week before plumb line when I needed it most. That day I wasn’t feeling well and became very emotional for no particular reason. I had to go back to the girl’s dorm. I felt like I was falling apart. I had muscle, head and stomach aches. I felt extremely tired and dizzy. When I got back to the room I felt I should check my email and when I did I found these words of encouragement.
Romans 5 v 2-5 And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
For me this is significant more than just routine encouragement. In the week prior to my coming to YWAM a friend in Taiwan referred to me as having perseverance. He didn’t even really know me, so at the time I just thought of it as being something nice that someone says about your character. Suddenly I knew God was rooting for me.
Let me just say in the past weeks God has been really working on my Character.
When I asked him for an answer he gave it to me. Not exactly what I wanted to hear but “Man, he heard me!”
During worship in the hall this past Friday we were all praying. I was trying to listen but then I began to think of other things that were on my mind. I started to pray about questions I had been asking God since I got here. I wanted to know things like: “Where I am I suppose to be?, Where am I suppose to go for outreach?”, and I wanted peace between me and the other student about dorm rules. I felt so many things. And I wanted confirmation because I didn’t feel like I was hearing God.” I prayed silently; while everyone else was praying about other things, that he would send someone to confirm what I was suppose to be doing. At the end of worship one of the staff members came up to me and read me a verse she felt God wanted me to hear:
James 4 v 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
She said she felt God wanted me continue to draw near to him and he would continue to draw nearer to me. I thought over if for a while after. I was sort of hoping for someone to come up to me and tell me, “You are suppose to go to Haiti or yes, you are suppose to stay with the team for outreach. Or maybe he would tell me his plan for me.” But I realized his answer was that I am right where I need to be. Once again he was telling me to focus on this time and that this time was for me and him to grow closer.
So you are all probably wondering what plumb line is. A plumb line looks like a string with a weight at the end. It is used to measure how straight something is such as a wall during construction. The following are some verses where the Lord uses the image of a plumb line.
Amos 7 v 7-9: This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”
Isaiah 28 v 17: I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
The plumb line study is to find out where we are out of line with God’s truth, love, acceptance and righteousness. We asked ourselves questions such as: When did we start building irregular walls and where they are in our lives. Questioning where we have we been deceived and then work on it with the Lord. In short it’s an intense week of discovering who we truly are, how we have been hurt, what kind of destructive coping mechanisms we may been using, and then how to repent. It’s hard to explain in just once sentence but trust me it is so much more. Throughout the week God has revealed places in my life where by not addressing it I had held onto something which could hurt myself or future relationships with others. By the end of the week we all shared our testimonies. I can’t stress enough how truly amazing it was. During many of the others testimonies I saw many of my own difficulties in life. When it came to my turn what I shared, was not what I thought I would say. It felt so good to deal with things I had held onto for so long. I tell you that night something in my soul was healed. I felt at peace. I know life goes on and there will be more troubles and my plumb line will swing, but now I feel more equipped to deal with those moments when they come.
I would like to share some of the verses spoken to me as encouragement during this time:
(This verse was spoken to me on two separate occasions; once when I was speaking to one of the staff members about life, then again by one of the plumb line lecture leaders after I gave my testimony.) Jeremiah 1 v 4-5: The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Isaiah 61 v 3: and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of spirit of despair.
Isaiah 60 v 19-20: The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
I felt so loved by so many and accepted for who I am. I felt understood and the words of God spoke healing to my sole.
I could share so many small times recently that God has been speaking to me. I am so thankful and blessed. Thanks for listening.
So many great things have happen in the past 2 weeks I don’t know where to start. I will start with a verse of encouragement provided to me by a friend back in California just a week before plumb line when I needed it most. That day I wasn’t feeling well and became very emotional for no particular reason. I had to go back to the girl’s dorm. I felt like I was falling apart. I had muscle, head and stomach aches. I felt extremely tired and dizzy. When I got back to the room I felt I should check my email and when I did I found these words of encouragement.
Romans 5 v 2-5 And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
For me this is significant more than just routine encouragement. In the week prior to my coming to YWAM a friend in Taiwan referred to me as having perseverance. He didn’t even really know me, so at the time I just thought of it as being something nice that someone says about your character. Suddenly I knew God was rooting for me.
Let me just say in the past weeks God has been really working on my Character.
When I asked him for an answer he gave it to me. Not exactly what I wanted to hear but “Man, he heard me!”
During worship in the hall this past Friday we were all praying. I was trying to listen but then I began to think of other things that were on my mind. I started to pray about questions I had been asking God since I got here. I wanted to know things like: “Where I am I suppose to be?, Where am I suppose to go for outreach?”, and I wanted peace between me and the other student about dorm rules. I felt so many things. And I wanted confirmation because I didn’t feel like I was hearing God.” I prayed silently; while everyone else was praying about other things, that he would send someone to confirm what I was suppose to be doing. At the end of worship one of the staff members came up to me and read me a verse she felt God wanted me to hear:
James 4 v 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
She said she felt God wanted me continue to draw near to him and he would continue to draw nearer to me. I thought over if for a while after. I was sort of hoping for someone to come up to me and tell me, “You are suppose to go to Haiti or yes, you are suppose to stay with the team for outreach. Or maybe he would tell me his plan for me.” But I realized his answer was that I am right where I need to be. Once again he was telling me to focus on this time and that this time was for me and him to grow closer.
So you are all probably wondering what plumb line is. A plumb line looks like a string with a weight at the end. It is used to measure how straight something is such as a wall during construction. The following are some verses where the Lord uses the image of a plumb line.
Amos 7 v 7-9: This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”
Isaiah 28 v 17: I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
The plumb line study is to find out where we are out of line with God’s truth, love, acceptance and righteousness. We asked ourselves questions such as: When did we start building irregular walls and where they are in our lives. Questioning where we have we been deceived and then work on it with the Lord. In short it’s an intense week of discovering who we truly are, how we have been hurt, what kind of destructive coping mechanisms we may been using, and then how to repent. It’s hard to explain in just once sentence but trust me it is so much more. Throughout the week God has revealed places in my life where by not addressing it I had held onto something which could hurt myself or future relationships with others. By the end of the week we all shared our testimonies. I can’t stress enough how truly amazing it was. During many of the others testimonies I saw many of my own difficulties in life. When it came to my turn what I shared, was not what I thought I would say. It felt so good to deal with things I had held onto for so long. I tell you that night something in my soul was healed. I felt at peace. I know life goes on and there will be more troubles and my plumb line will swing, but now I feel more equipped to deal with those moments when they come.
I would like to share some of the verses spoken to me as encouragement during this time:
(This verse was spoken to me on two separate occasions; once when I was speaking to one of the staff members about life, then again by one of the plumb line lecture leaders after I gave my testimony.) Jeremiah 1 v 4-5: The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Isaiah 61 v 3: and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of spirit of despair.
Isaiah 60 v 19-20: The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
I felt so loved by so many and accepted for who I am. I felt understood and the words of God spoke healing to my sole.
I could share so many small times recently that God has been speaking to me. I am so thankful and blessed. Thanks for listening.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,I am writing this letter due to something I felt was placed on my heart by God after praying as a mission team for opening doors to financial support and outreach opportunities. As many of you know I am currently in Jeffrey’s Bay South Africa. My fellow students and I have been called here by God to be a part of the January 2010 Youth With A Mission (YWAM) disciple ship training school. We are here to, “Know God and make him known.” In June 1956 God spoke in the form of a vision to a man known as Loren Cunningham. He envisioned a map of the world being covered with waves. Suddenly the waves began to change into young people covering the glob to preach the Word of God. Eventually that vision became a reality now known as YWAM.
For the first eleven weeks we gather as a team to work on strengthening our personal relationship with God. We are preparing are outreach team to carry a message to the communities of South Africa, Kenya and many other ministry opportunities. That message is that Jesus wants a personal relationship with each and every one of his people. Currently we are reaching out to the Jeffrey’s Bay community. There are many mission projects we are able to get involved with. Some examples are: The Joshua Project which focuses on feeding and preparing homeless or disadvantaged children with adult basic education. Victory for all is another organization that provides foster homes and a primary Christian school education. Seventh Heaven provides foster homes for kids that have been abused or neglected. Ithemba is a pre-primary and preschool for 60 plus kids. They also run after school programs for 45 plus children and are also providing a foster home for 2 children at this time. The Rainbow project provides care for children who are mentally and physically challenged. The organization On Eagle’s Wings reaches out to women and children who have suffered abuse. They also provided care and counseling to rape or trauma victims. The Mercy clinic offers mother and child vaccinations. They also provide a baby safe device where unwanted babies can be dropped off safely, thus decreasing the abandonment of new born babies in trash cans or plastic bags. The HIV/AIDS awareness group provides food, HIV/AIDS information and support groups. As YWAMers we also do Door to Door evangelism and work with kids in the community to teach them about Jesus.
Our January 2010 YWAM DTS team needs your support. We need your prayers for strength, togetherness, and financial support. Many of us have been faced with physical ailments, overwhelming emotions, and issues at home. We need your prayers for outreach opportunities and safety durring our outreach. Prayer is also needed for those people we will be encountering during our outreach. Please pray that their hearts are softened and open to the word of God. We thank you for keeping us in your thoughts, prayers, and for your words of encouragement. Please spread word to your churches, friends, and family to join in through prayer. Any financial support received will go to the outreach team to help those who are still working on gathering funds. We trust that God will provide and our team will be going on outreach together to tell the world, “Through Jesus Christ it is possible to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.”
One of the verses that have really spoken too many of us on the team is Matthew 28 v 19-20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Thank you again and God bless.
Love,
Brandy Friday
Outreach financial support information:
Send support for outreach to: Brethren In Christ Church 845 W. Arrow HWY, Upland, CA, 91786. Office number (909) 982-1016. Please write checks out to Brethren In Christ Church. (Make sure to note at the bottom of the check that it is for the Jan 2010 YWAM outreach team).
Or you may transfer the funds directly to:
Account Name: Destiny Ministries International, Checking Account Number: 404 9420 803, Branch Code: 334515, Swift ABSA: ABSAZAJJCPE, Address: ABSA Bank, 29 Da Gama RD, Jeffery’s Bay, 6330, South Africa. (Make sure to note on the transfer that the funds are for the Jan 2010 YWAM outreach team).
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