21 Days. A Devotional Guide. Prayer Fasting Bible Reading Plan

Transcription

1 21 Days A Devotional Guide Prayer Fasting Bible Reading Plan

2 Table of Contents 1. Table of Contents 2. Letter from Pastor 3. Instructions & Layout 4. Section One - Faith (Day 1-7) 5. Section Two - Hope (Day 8-14) 6. Section Three - Love (Day 15-21) 7. Section Four - Conclusion

3 Hi Church, We are so excited to finally be able to put this resource together. This 21 Day Devotional Guide is something I have wanted to do with Church Alive for a long time. During the next 21 days, we are going to embark on a time to draw nearer to God. The Bible says, if we draw close to God, He will draw close to you. Do not be anxious about this journey. We serve a good God who is gentle with us. This is more for us than for Him. This event will help, rest us, de clutter our insides and push us forward to hopefully more intimacy with Him. As we get to know Him better, we are able to believe Him more. Believing Him more causes our whole life to get better; because we are trusting Him and His promises more. Remember what Hebrews says, It is impossible to please God and be satisfactory to Him, without faith. It also says that, He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We love you and look forward to seeing what He does in you! 2016 Believe It

4 Instructions and Layout: The instructions are simple. Start at day one and progress each day with no breaks through all 21 exercises. There are three Main Sections. Each section has a main scriptural theme. Section One: Faith, Section Two: Hope, and finally Section Three: Love. Each day within each section will start with the scripture for the day and a thought afterwards. Take time to meditate on the scripture. Dissect it, examine it, dig into it. The Bible says that, The amount of virtue (value) we receive or get back from what we read is based on the thought and attention we give to it. (Paraphrased). At the beginning of each Main Section is also a one week calendar - Sunday through Saturday; with examples of things you can fast. Fasting helps us set things aside for a short time to help us focus on God. Traditionally a fast would be to fast food. We want to include anything that you are willing to give up for a time to draw closer to God. The amount of time is strictly up to you. You can miss one meal or the whole week... You can turn off the TV for an evening, an hour, or the day... The point is to think about Him...

5 Main Section One: Faith Days 1-7 (Sunday - Saturday) FASTING: AM PM Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Things to Consider: Food - Drink - Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) - TV - Movies - - Phone - Newspaper - anything else you can think of. Remember this is for an hour, a day, the week... You may even decide to fast TV on Tuesday evening, and a meal on Thursday... What are you believing God for during these next 7 days? Notes:..

6 Main Section One - Theme: Faith Day 1 - Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Thought: Faith is a powerful tool in the hands of a believer. Faith reaches out into the unseen and grabs hold of the promises of God. When we read Gods Word a certain amount of faith is attached to it. This faith helps us believe God for whatever HIS Word says. We have to know that God is not a liar. His promises are for you too. Day 2 - Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. Thought: We cannot expect to receive anything from God, if we are not planning on believing Him. He is teaching us to trust Him, to lean on Him, to know that He is. God does not like for us to doubt, which is the opposite of faith. God is very generous and He does see us as we try to push on in faith and believe Him for whatever the case may be. The Bible says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him out. You have to believe His Word, to seek Him out and He will reward the effort. Day 3 - James 1:26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person s religious service is worthless (futile, barren). Thought: God really, really wants us to learn how to control our mouths. He spoke the creation into existence; and we are created in His image. He wants us to be careful about what we say. Our words are powerful to do good or evil. This scripture also implies - we all know someone who talks a big spiritual talk, but when you listen to their speech other stuff comes out of their mouth, that is anything but good. Fresh water cannot come from a dirty spring! Watch what s coming out of there. Speak words of life!

7 Main Section Theme: Faith Day 4 - James 2:18 But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now you show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith. Thought: We have been talking the last few days about faith - believing God. When we truly have faith in Him and believe Him from our heart, it will come out in the form of good works! We are not saved from our good works, but our reward in heaven is based on doing them. Some people will say I do not have to help the poor, I can just have faith someone will... You are the someone. Do you believe that God can help them? Then allow Him to work through you to meet the need. By doing good deeds you show your faith! Day 5-1 Peter 5:9 Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. Thought: The scripture above is talking about what we should do when Satan attacks us. I do not know anyone who wants to be attacked, or wants to suffer. Our enemy attacks everyone. There is no one on the earth who has not been bothered by him... That does not mean everyday is a battle. However, every day that we live here we are in the war. We can learn how to win our battles, by staying in God s Word. Day 6-1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not put faith in every spirit, but prove (test) the spirits to discover whether they proceed from God; for many false prophets have gone forth into the world. Thought: I like scriptures like this one. This is telling us not to trust everything people say. I do not mean being suspicious, but rather cautious. There are those who say they are Christians, but by their fruit we see they are not showing Godly character. Sometimes a person will try and give us a Word, from the Lord - when they themselves are not listening or doing what the Lord wants. It is ok to check someone out, to make sure they are the real deal. Day 7 - Jude 1:20-21 But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit; 21) Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [which will bring you] unto life eternal. Thought: Wow - God is giving you permission to build yourself up. To many people wait for a pastor, a spouse or a friend to lift them up, to encourage them. This does not mean someone cannot encourage us; but God is telling us to take responsibility for staying in the love of God, to seek Him, to grow, to build ourselves up. I think if more people decided; with the help of our Lord, to go after Him passionately there would be way more fruit in the body of Christ. Take a stand - encourage yourself in the Lord!

8 Main Section Two: Hope Days 8-14 (Sunday - Saturday) FASTING: AM PM Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Things to Consider: Food - Drink - Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) - TV - Movies - - Phone - Newspaper - anything else you can think of. Remember this is for an hour, a day, the week... You may even decide to fast TV on Tuesday evening, and a meal on Thursday... What are you believing God for during these next 7 days? Notes:..

9 Main Section Two - Theme: Hope Sunday / Day 8 - Isaiah 26:3 You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. Thought: Wow, what a wonderful promise in God s Word. God promises to keep us in perfect and constant peace if we will keep our mind on Him. This really means that we are keeping our mind under control and not allowing them to wander, worry, and doubt. Staying focused is the key. Monday / Day 9 - Hebrews 10:23 So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word. Thought: God wants us to hold fast to this hope we have been give. The assurance that when we have repented of our sins and turned to Jesus to save us, He has indeed saved us. That one day we are going to heaven when we die. That He loves us and cares about us. This hope is core to our relationship with Him. We must stand firm on this hope. Tuesday / Day 10 - Romans 15:13 May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. Thought: This is one of my favorite scriptures. It speaks volumes when you take time to examine what God is wanting to communicate here. God knows that human heart needs hope. He knows, because He created it... God wants us to have something to hope in and for. It gets us up in the morning and helps motivates us to keep going. We understand the biggest hope of our life is in Him and what He has done for us. God also wants to give us a dream, and help us to have hope that He will bring it to pass in His time. Hoping in Him and His ability, His power, and His willingness to bring it to pass in contagious. God wants us to be infectious with hope, that's the bubbling over part.

10 Main Section Two Theme: Hope Wednesday / Day 11 - Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. Thought: We have learned a great deal about hope that last few days. We are learning the God is the one who designed this thing called hope, and wants us to have it. God ultimately wants us to hope in Him. To learn to trust Him, believe Him, to in the end love Him... What a good God we serve. Thursday / Day 12 - Romans 4:18 [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be. Thought: God wants us to believe His promises to us. Even when it does not look possible, to hope in Him anyway. Abraham was promised a child. He was right at a hundred years old when His wife had their promised baby. It was physically impossible to have had a baby in their old age, but God promised to give Abraham and heir - and His promise came true. Abraham and Sarah had to do their part, and part of that was to hope! Hope in God. Friday / Day 13 - Romans 5:2 Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. Thought: The greatest hope is the thought of experiencing the glory of God. Being able to be in His presence one day. Yes, we can experience Gods presence here now on earth, but it is just a shadow of what it will be like then... Saturday / Day 14 - Romans 8:24 For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees? 25) But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure. Thought: God is indeed training us. That is a fact. If you are a born-again Christian God is training you. Part of His training is to teach us how to be patient and wait on Him. It s hard to wait sometimes. We want things now. If God tells us something, and we are doing are part - He wants us to hope; all the while being patient for Him to act, to bring it into our life. He is using the time between His promise to us and the fulfillment of it, to teach us and train us. The hope part helps us not give up.

11 Main Section Three: Love Days (Sunday - Saturday) FASTING: AM PM Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Things to Consider: Food - Drink - Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) - TV - Movies - - Phone - Newspaper - anything else you can think of. Remember this is for an hour, a day, the week... You may even decide to fast TV on Tuesday evening, and a meal on Thursday... What are you believing God for during these next 7 days? Notes:..

12 Main Section Three - Theme: Love Sunday / Day 15 - John 3:16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. Thought: This seems to be the hallmark of God s plan for us, though the sacrifice of Jesus. The essence is as we see, God love us. He loves you. Not that He likes everything we do, but He loves you. God was to keep us, to save us, and to share His forever with us. Thank you Jesus for your loving for us. Monday / Day 16-1 John 3:1 See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him. Thought: The world would say, Yeah right, your God s son. Sure you are. But God on the other hand has made the idea and the reality of that very thing real in our hearts. It is so very true, we really are Gods child; if we have received Jesus as Lord. There is no other creature that has been called Gods child... Can and will you wrap your mind around that thought. When you go to Him, get rid of the religious mumbo jumbo and be His child. Talk to Him, and believe that He wants you, and wants to hear from you. Tuesday / Day 17-1 John 2:15 Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Thought: God is not saying you cannot like anything while you are here. Matter of fact believe God give us things all the time, to have and enjoy. We just have to be sure we are not in love with this world, but to be in love with Him, and what He is about. We are not staying here. One day everything we see is going to be gone. But the things of God will remain. You can have some stuff, but don t let the stuff have you. Love God!

13 Main Section Three Theme: Love Wednesday / Day 18-1 John 4:19 We love Him, because He first loved us. Thought: So very simple. We can never brag that somehow God is paying you back for taking the first step; no He did. He took the first step. We really cannot love someone or even Him, without letting His love heal you first. We love, because He loved first! Thursday / Day 19-1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love s complete perfection]. Thought: God was us not to be afraid of Him. Now please keep in mind we must be balanced here, and cautious. If we are living a sinful life, doing things as a believer or unbeliever that are in open defiance of His wished - yes, be afraid. God s punishments are not fun. But if you are truly trying to learn, grow and live for Him; He wants you to not be afraid. He will help you. He wants you to be able to be yourself and grow in His grace, as He is training you. If you make a mistake and sin, repent from it, ask for His forgiveness let it go and move on... Short simple and to the point. Friday / Day 20 - Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and brother of James, [writes this letter] to those who are called (chosen), dearly loved by God the Father and separated (set apart) and kept for Jesus Christ: Thought: I like the phrase dearly loved by God. That is so sweet to my ears. I am dearly loved by God and so are you. It makes me feel secure to know that I am loved by Him so much. You can never truly start living in the confidence of the Lord, if you do not understand that principle and more importantly believe it. Saturday / Day 21 - Jude 1:21 Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [which will bring you] unto life eternal. Thought: Now has we end this 7 day stretch on love. This scripture says, keep yourself in the love of God. This is a very important part. We cannot run off from Him at every chance we get; meaning living sinfully. We must stay in God s love. The Bible says, if you love me you will obey my commands. We have read a lot about God s love for you, but now we can show our love for Him. Stay in His love, show Him you love Him - not just say it.

14 Conclusion of our 21 day fasting, and praying. Thank you for taking this time to draw closer to Him. We hope this has helped you. Please use the next couple of pages to write a thank you letter to God and to give us some feed-back on what you feel like He did during this time of coming to Him.

15 Dear Father, Thank you Father in Jesus Name Amen..

16 What impact did this time do for you. What are things God has done for you during this devotional period? Please use the blank space below. Tear out this page and turn it in. If you want to write your name on this please do, but it is not required.