Releasing our Kingdom Imagination 2014 LENTEN FAST 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer Pastor Timothy L. Jones Community Baptist Church 143 Shelton Ave. New Haven, CT 06511
COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH DEACONS DIT Deborah Oliver Dorothy Marable DIT Eric Dyson Fred Morris George Wells James Brown Joyce Lanier Mary Tappin Ouida Haynes DIT Roberto Taylor Tamara Prescott DIT William Booker Windell Camp
Friendly Reminders: Level 1: Only drinking water and juice for the duration of our fast. This is again only for those that are physically able to handle something like this, and for those that have fasted before. Level 2: During the daytime hours, avoid eating or drinking anything except water. For many of us this will mean simply skipping lunch and avoiding snacking while we are at work during the day. During lunch or break time when you would usually eat, spend some time with the Lord in prayer or read your Bible. Level 3: In the book of Daniel on two different occasions, Daniel fasted from meat or any pleasant food (Daniel 1:8-16 and 10:3). We will eat only fruits, vegetables and whole grains. You should do your best to avoid meat and animal products, dairy products, sweeteners, coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol. The morning prayer call is at 6:00 AM Monday-Friday. The number is (641) 715-3200 & the access code is 623475. Bible Study is Wednesday at 12:00 PM and 6:30 PM. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6
Monday, April 14 th Mark 11:12-19 During our Palm Sunday service, we spent a great deal of time talking about how Christ came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, signifying that he was coming as a peaceful King, not as a militaristic revolutionary with a sword in His hand. Jesus, as we saw in the text, came in peace. However, as the story continues, we re clearly shown that Jesus desire for peace did not mean that he never took action. In our passage for today we see a side of Jesus that is not often mentioned when we talk about our Savior. What an amazing scene! Jesus begins to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple. He flipped over tables and basically caused quite a commotion in the temple courts. The source of his anger and frustration was simple; people had transformed His Father s house from a place of prayer into a place of commerce. What was intended to be a place where people gathered to draw near to God had become a place for people to make money. This was bold move for Jesus but one that he clearly felt strongly about. Jesus was not afraid to make a public declaration of the sanctity of God s house. He wanted to make sure that the people focused on what they should have been focusing on when they came to the temple, spending time with the Lord. And my friends, as we begin this Holy Week and prepare for Easter Sunday, we too must be reminded that this week is about our devotion to our Savior. It seems like a simple point, but it s easy to get wrapped up in Easter dresses, pastel colors, the beauty of Springtime, Easter Egg hunts, and the like all while forgetting what happened on that cross and in the tomb so many years ago. Maybe we don t need to go into church and start flipping over tables, but we do need to remind ourselves exactly why this week is called Holy Week in the first place. The challenge for our congregation this week is to make the time to reflect on Jesus, his life, his death, and ultimately his glorious resurrection.
Meditation: What gets in the way of you reflecting on Jesus? What have you allowed to creep into your life that blurs your focus on our Savior? Is your own house a house of prayer or is something else the dominant activity where you lay your head? Prayer: Most gracious God, help us to turn our eyes towards the cross of Calvary this week. We pray that you help us block out all of the other distractions that normally take our attention away from you and that we re able to give you our primary focus on this week. We pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.
Tuesday, April 15 th Mark 11:20-24 Have Faith in God. Four such simple words uttered by Jesus in Mark 11:22. Four words so easy to speak, yet so hard for us to completely follow. Faith is the very foundation of our Christian journey. Without it, where would we be? According to Hebrews 11:1 NKJV, Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. In the NIV translation, Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not yet see. This faith is what the ancient believers were commended for; do we not wish it were what we ourselves could also be known for? Jesus preached and taught often about faith, and it is faith that healed people and made them well; faith that gave sight to a blind man. In Matthew 8, the disciples in the boat on the stormy sea lacked faith and Jesus rebuked them saying O ye of little faith, why did you doubt? Whatever it is we are going through, we must have faith that God will bring us out and allow us to testify to God s divine deliverance. Meditation: Do we really have faith in God? Where is our faith? What have we been praying for without ceasing that has not yet manifested? Could it be because our faith is not really sincere? We say the words with our lips but there is something within us that does not embrace it 100% - could it be possible? What can we do in this last phase of the fast to increase our faith? Prayer: Lord, I have faith in you. I do not doubt. I believe you are who you say you are; I believe you can do what you say you can do; I believe by faith that you are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I believe by faith that you sent your son Jesus Christ to die so that we might have abundant and eternal life, and in just three days we will remember his awesome act of dying on the cross for us. As we
travel the last few days of this Lenten journey towards the empty tomb, may our faith make us whole; may our faith cause us to be new creatures in Christ through whom we pray and say Amen.
Wednesday, April 16 th Matthew 26:6-13 A version of this story - a woman anointing the head of Jesus with costly, fragrant perfume - appears in all four gospels with key variations (see Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:36-50 and John 12:1-8). In one version the woman is Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus; a sinner in another; and unnamed in two. As both the perfume (nard) and the material of the jar containing it were very expensive, all four Gospel writers indicated the woman s actions as quite wasteful. The characters in the scenes posited that the perfume could have been sold for a large sum of money, and the money then given to the poor to assist them with their daily needs. A lovely thought to be sure, but Jesus was having none of it. In the Matthew text, Jesus praised the woman s actions, saying that the poor would always be among the people but he would be leaving soon. What s more, Jesus stated that wherever in the world the good news is to be shared in the future, her actions would always be extolled. Meditation: Plan some time this week to read all four versions of this story, listed above. What do you gain from these stories? Which version touches you most deeply? What praise can you pour out based on your love for Jesus? What have you recently done that will be sure to garner praise from people for generations to come? If you are able, listen to Cece Winans song, Alabaster Box at http://youtu.be/kfvwiarbzw8. Prayer: Lord of all creation, I give all of myself to you. I love you for all that you have done for me and for all humanity. I want to pour out my praise on you and let it overflow, as my love for you overflows! Fill me with your precious anointing, oh God. Forgive me, save me, heal me, love me, and set me free not just today, but every day of my life. In your precious name I pray, Amen.
Thursday, April 17 th Matthew 26:36-46 Do you ever find yourself falling asleep on God? It does not always have to be physically sleeping. It could be social media, watching TV, listening to and spreading gossip, playing video games and so on. Jesus asked Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to keep watch over Him while he prayed. How many times in our lives have we been so consumed with people, places and things that we do not pay attention to God and forget to pray? We can talk to everyone but forget about communicating with God. It is time to wake up!!! We must start to watch, wait and pray because of all the situations that are going on today. Stop sleeping and pay attention so God can show us what is going on. Meditation: Am I mindful of my thoughts? Am I too focused on mindless distractions? Are my actions done with God in mind? When was the last time I took a moment for reflection, prayer and meditation? Prayer: Lord, please open my eyes so I can see You. Open my ears so I can hear You. Open my heart so I can feel You. Never let me ignore Your Son dying on the Cross to save me and rising from the dead to give me the key to eternal live. When You see me not paying attention to you wake me up and remind me how much you love me. Amen.
Friday, April 18 th Luke 23:32-43 Our King, our Lord and our Savior, was crucified upon a cross like a common criminal. He was spat upon and mocked. People gambled to decide who would take His clothing. Even one of the criminals who hung beside Him, suffering the same fate, hurled insults at Him. This is not the way we would expect the King of all the Earth to go. But what amazes me about the whole scenario is that even on that old rugged cross, as He hung there bleeding and dying for a set of crimes He did not commit, He was mighty to save. From the moment His executioners nailed Him to the cross, Jesus begged of God that they might be forgiven. We often take Jesus forgiveness here for granted but we shouldn t. The Lord of all the Earth had just been nailed to a cross and immediately asked of God that those who crucified Him might be forgiven. Jesus asked for God s forgiveness on behalf of people who didn t even know they needed forgiveness for an offense done directly to God. And in that moment, Jesus asked this forgiveness not only for those who physically nailed Him to the cross, but also for each of us. Jesus asked God to forgive us for our sins even before we knew we needed God s forgiveness. One of the criminals could see who Jesus was. Somehow, even in the midst of the dirt, blood, sweat, and tears that must have covered Jesus face and body, this man recognized Jesus Kingship and earned his place within Jesus Kingdom. Even in the midst of this cruel world, we have to be like the criminal who recognized Jesus true identity. Even as we see the message of Jesus Christ battered and crucified all around us, we must declare that Jesus is King and secure ourselves a place within His magnificent Kingdom.
Meditation: Am I going out into the world and speaking up about the love of Jesus? When do I choose to speak up about Jesus? Why don t I proclaim Jesus as the Messiah everywhere I go? Prayer: Jesus I praise you because you are mighty to save. You forgave me of my sins even before I knew I needed forgiveness. Lord I pray that I will declare your awesome power in my life. I pray that I will be able to teach people about you. Lord, light me on fire for you. Compel me to forgive as you forgive, to love as you love, and to serve as you serve. Lord, I am just so honored to know you. Thank you for paying the debt. It is in Your Name that I pray. Amen.
Saturday April 19 th Philippians 2:5-11 When I was in middle school, I received my first WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelet! This bracelet often served as a reminder that I was supposed to do what I thought Jesus would do in every uncomfortable or confrontational situation. Over time, this bracelet served more as a reminder of my shortcomings than my successful attempts at being Christ-like. Our text for today gives us insight into what Jesus did and what we should do as his disciples. We often read this text as a command, an expectation that we can instantly have the mind of Jesus Christ if we wanted to. And we often condemn ourselves when we fail. Read the text again, but this time read it as a prayer. Lord, let the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus. Reflection: Take a few moments to reflect of today s scriptures. Take an honest assessment of how well your mind lines up with the mind of Christ. Think about the times this week you have done what Jesus would do. Think upon the moments where you fell short. What are your areas for improvement? How can you show grace to yourself as you journey in becoming like Christ? Prayer: Lord let the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus.