The leaders of Grace House are calling our people to a 21-day fast. The purpose of this fast is for us to be able to enter a deeper place of truth and intimacy with Christ and others. This deeper place of truth will bring us closer to the heart of God and allow us to more clearly discern his voice and purposes.
One thing I know about fasting is this: our fasting must be directed at our own hearts.
Isaiah wrote these words in Isaiah 58:6.
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. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry; and He will say, ‘Here I am.‘
I want you to realize that these instructions follow a rebuke that God speaks about fasting for wrong purposes. God instructed the people that they were not to fast for strife and debate (to prove their own points); they were not to fast in order to afflict their own souls so that God would notice them. Read more...
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Do you think God ever laughs in pleasure? Can you picture Jesus laughing while interacting with people? Many of you might have difficulty seeing Divinity in those ways. Yet most of us can quickly conjure up images of God being angry or sending bolts of lightning down on us in response to our sinfulness.
If we humans are created in God’s image and He gave us the full range of emotions, don’t you suppose His emotions also included joy that overflows into laughter? I do. In fact, I think it would be profitable for all of us to take a few moments and imagine God smiling at us in love and pleasure. Galatians tells us that we are God’s handiwork and just as He reviewed His works of creation as recorded in Genesis and said, “It is good,” I believe He looks at us and is pleased with His work of creation.
The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us in Ecclesiastes 3: 4 that there is a time to laugh. St. Iraneus wrote that the glory of God is man fully alive. I believe that a fully alive individual knows how to laugh!
It is appropriate for all of us to stop and evaluate our ability to laugh and have fun. Sometimes life’s painful circumstances have taught us that we don’t deserve to have fun. Religion can teach us that fun isn’t holy. If you are one of those individuals who have difficulty playing and having fun, today is the day you should begin to challenge that mindset. Allow God to bring healing into your heart through fun and laughter.
Laughter is an important part of life. Proverbs 17: 22 says that “A merry heart does us good, like a medicine.” Laughter brings healing. It is music to our souls. Laughter connects our soul and spirit.
So today I want to make you smile and laugh!
The following is a clip from our children’s presentation at church on Dec. 20. The little star of this clip is Caleb Bullard, son of Todd and Amy Bullard. Todd and Amy weren’t sure Caleb would actually go up on the stage, but oh, did he ever. He not only went up on the stage, he took over the stage. His performance seems to have said, “Here I am world! Enjoy me!” I rather think God loved seeing his little son enjoy himself. This clip doesn’t show his full body which would have made it even better if you could have seen his little side steps, but click away and smile.
2009 is gone, and I have awakened unto 2010. I stop this morning to reflect on 2009 and look forward to 2010. As a matter of accountability, I’ve already looked back at the goals I set for 2009 to see how I did in regard to them. I am pleased. 2009 was a year of continued change for me. Certainly I didn’t score 100% but in my blog, Welcoming 2009, I notice that I gave myself permission to resolve to resolve imperfectly! So I did not fail. Read more...
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