by mondayslife | Feb 20, 2017 | Bible, Love, Mondays Life, Obedience, Spiritual Gifts
Start your Monday by loving one another! A loving behavior then is the one present day kingdom sign that one is a authentic spiritual person. It is in your behavior and thinking.
To Love one another is the ultimate indicator of spiritual maturity. It Is is not operating in spiritual gifts or who can “preach” the best. Start your Monday off LOVING one another, not competing with one another.
1 Cor 12:31-13:3
Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.
by mondayslife | Feb 13, 2017 | Decisions, Fasting, God Great, heavenly minded, Mondays Life
Last week we look at Isaiah 58 and the meaning of praying and fasting:
Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:6-8
It is explained in Isaiah 58 of the fast God was requiring of the Israelites. It was not the ritual of fasting that was a concern, but the attitude behind the fasting. The Israelites felt that because of their fasting, it should equate to righteousness. But at the same time, their fasting held no weight due to the fact they remained in their sin during and after the fast. Our works alone cannot make us righteous or equate to salvation in God.
What is your attitude like behind your fasting and praying? Are you fasting to make yourself look more righteous? Are fasting and praying to brag to others that we fast and pray? We only fulfill one side of fasting and praying by getting ourselves together in God, but the other requirement of fasting and praying remains unfulfilled. In Isaiah 58, God gives Israel the requisites of fasting: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh. It is not to us but for us to help others. We fast to help build up the church. We fast to help others to be set free. We fast to help the poor and feed the hungry.
So the next time you are led on a fast, remember that we are not fasting for only personal benefit or gain but we are fasting and praying to help others. There is beauty in the struggle to see others set free.
by mondayslife | Feb 6, 2017 | Decisions, Fasting, God Great, Mondays Life, Obedience, Praying, Wait on God
For the past month, we have been talking about Praying and Fasting. Many of us can feel led to go on fast or we attend worship assemblies that participate in corporate fasting. At the end of the day we have a choice to answer the call to pray and fast. When God is requiring something from us, our response to the call is what is important. The key principle that is in play here is obedience.
I want to encourage you to pick up the phone and answer the call. When we hear praying and fasting at first hand, we instantly get nervous and start to think of the things we cannot do rather than it being an opportunity to do something for God. Once I started thinking about praying and fasting as opportunity and a privilege, I approached praying and fasting with a better attitude.
It is not just about abstaining from food and praying, but it is the obedience to the call. If you are a believer, then you will get the call to pray and fast. Matthew 6:16, it starts out with, “When you fast”, that means that in your walk with God, you will fast and it will be unto the Lord. God requires our obedience and it is a conscious decision that we must make.
We must remember the fast that God has chosen for us. It is not just abstaining from food, but it is about reaching out to others. I also approached praying and fasting from Isaiah 58. Our fasting and praying helps others and we should be active in helping God’s people. This is God’s Will for us. Look at the beauty of fasting and praying. It is about others, and not ourselves. There is a blessing in choosing to fast and pray.
Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:6-8
