LEARNINGS TO SHARE…

Depending on when you started your fasting during this years Daniel Fast, today is either 2 days from the finish line for you or 3 or 4 days from finishing.  Either way, you are to be commended for your disciplining yourself for spiritual growth.  1 Timothy 4:7, says, “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness”.  whenever you focus your heart and mind and body to grow spiritually, its a good thing.

one thing I would encourage you to continue is your discipline.  not necessarily fasting, but ‘connecting’.  Connecting to God that is…dont just go through the motions and check off a list that you had a “devotion” or “quiet time”, but purpose and discipline yourself to “connect” with the Lord.  Hopefully this time of fasting has helped you, but now that its approaching being over, we are often tempted to go out and satisfy our flesh and cravings and gorge out and feast away.  It’s ok to celebrate, but remember what you have learned and don’t waste what you have learned by returning to your old ways.  a life of godliness involves regular daily discipline.

it’s like the training that makes a professional athlete, well, a professional athlete!  A lot of professional athletes go to what you and I would think are extremes, like, weighing the ounces of protein they are eating and timing the eating of those proteins at exact times in the day for optimal uploads of Branched-Chain-Amino-Acids for protein synthesis in their muscles…for what?  so they can have the “edge” on the field or court.  We would say they are nuts, but they would say that what they do is what makes the difference between the minor leagues and the majors, or the difference between the playoffs and winning the championship!!

What you and I do has far more eternal implications and yet we approach it with such a “slacker” mentality.  we are too comfy with a lack of discipline and let’s consider just one arena…sin!  So many times in my own life I am just too comfy with a little lust or a little gluttony or a little pride or a little fear, worry, anxiety, and on and on.

I, like you maybe, have too much of a slacker mentality vs. a edge mentality when it comes to spiritual matters.  Today, on our church’s prayer calendar, we are praying for “confronting the sin in our lives”.  What a prayer request!!  only if we all would do that today, try to eradicate sin in our lives, well, eradicate is a bit strong what about just confronting it?!  sometimes we just have to admit it and that is a great 1st step.  also in todays proverbs reading (ch 28), i read that if I want to prosper, I will not conceal the sin in my life, on the other hand if I confess them, I will receive mercy and Proverbs told me that I am blessed if I “fear to do wrong”.  Wow,  what a thought!  Do I actually “fear” to do wrong?  If I am honest, more often, i do not!  like I said, I get too comfy with my sin.

But I want blessing, and I want mercy, so, I must confront the sin that’s in my life and if that means more discipline in my life, whether its more fasting or otherwise, then its worth it.  I will have the “edge” on the field of life’s arena’s and be a champion for Jesus!!  awesome!!

Remember….”discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness”

blessings, mk

This entry was posted on January 28, 2011 at 9:10 am and is filed under Daniel Fast 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.