Story of God's protection and grace from our missionary

I just got off the phone with our missionary to India, other sensitive nations, and now the border of Bangladesh.  He told me a story that shows God's love for His people and what He is willing to do for those who are called according to His purposes. He was in a service with new believers near the border of Bangladesh. Some children came running in saying "the elephants are coming, the elephants are coming!" Elephants are known to travel in herds of 50-70 and trample anything, including buildings and people, when they stampede. Bro. missionary came out to see, indeed, a large herd of elephants coming toward the village, their property, and headed straight for the church.  He said there is no way to outrun the elephants once they are stampeding. The church began to pray and Bro. (missionary) commanded the elephants to stop in the name of Jesus.  The herd stopped about 50-80 feet from where the congregation was gathered, at the border of their property! He said that they stayed for about 10 -15 minutes and it was very tense as they prayed. Soon the elephants, for no "apparent" reason turned and went around the property and headed down stream to another village.  They heard reports the next day that that herd traveled down the stream and pulverized a small hindu temple!  Here's the really interesting part.  That temple was a place that worshipped ELEPHANTS as their gods!!  Bro. (Missionary) said that while they don't rejoice in the loss of life or destruction of property, they realized the power of God over creation and how He protects His children. The believers have organized an outreach to that other village to show them the love of God!!

(Missionary) exemplifies who I want to be in our community.  A beacon of love and grace, demonstrating the power of God as well as the compassion of God to those around us.

Pray for (Missionary).  He has been ministering in India, other nations, and near the border of Bangladesh since October, and just arrived home last week. They planted six churches and have seen over 350 people come to know the Lord in that time.  Since he has been gone the last week, some of the believers planned a dinner, invited unbelievers over and saw another 45 come to the Lord!!  They have asked him to come back to disciple these new believers and he is headed back next week again!

Having (Missionary) in our lives has brought joy and humility. We continue to pray for him, his family, and support the work of the ministry, while asking God to do the same among us.

*(Missionary)'s name and some locations have been removed due to the sensitive nature of his mission.*

Final day (or is it?)

I want to start by apologizing for not finishing this blog about fasting well. No excuses are worth putting here so I'll leave it at an apology.

For many of our "followers" of the post and those who are "readers" of this post, this will be the last official day of the fast.  I challenged New Day on Sunday to make today, from sun-up to sun-down (traditional Jewish), an "only liquids" fasting day. If you missed that, don't worry about it. 

I'm almost a little sad about ending today.  This fast has had it's ups and downs, but I believe that all-in-all, God is pleased and that's all that matters!  We will be doing more fasts in the future and I have decided to keep this blog going with at least one post per week. If you would like to contribute (i.e. post rather than just comment) let me know!  That would help me tremendously and I believe that you have something to say, not just me.

Today, keep Daniel chapters 9 & 10 in mind.  In Chapter 10, Daniel waited 21 days for the answer to come while he fasted and sought the Lord. His obedience to seek the Lord paid off in the form of angelic visitations and a message directly from the throne room of heaven. What are we going to receive?  I can't wait to hear from you on that one!

Not only did Daniel receive from the Lord, but those around him felt the effects, even though they couldn't see Gabriel. Your fasting and seeking the Lord these last 21 days will be felt by those around you, even if they don't see the big picture like you do!  

Jesus said, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22. Let's stand together today and tomorrow and the next and watch God's Word be fulfilled in our lives!

Blessings!

Day 15 from Joni

One thing not to do: (this is Joni by the way) I was so hungry for something dessert like...I microwaved a banana with a bunch of that organic peanut butter with honey on top. My thinking was the peanut butter would melt and mix with the honey to make a nice topping for the banana. I don't suggest trying this. Something very strange happened to the banana, the peanut butter never melted and I think the honey evaporated. That's what I get for thinking dessert. Gotta go. Ricky will probably freak when he sees that there is only a tiny bit of his crushed peanuts left!

Halfway!

Sunday- what a great day today. The presence of the Lord was so awesome today!  I know that when we set our hearts on pilgrimage, the Lord rewards us!  He said He would go with us and He is.

We went to Jason's Deli (a DF's dream salad bar) with some friends today and we talked about how that there are hard days, but it's harder to believe that we've already been going 11 days.  We also talked about how it seems that it's easier to "hear" the voice of the Lord during this time. Are you finding the voice of the Lord clearer?

Sunday's Video- 2008 Review.

This is from Sunday, January 4th. Enjoy!

Day 8

I want to share with you something from the journal I'm using for our fast:

"Can you imagine what it must have been like to Adam or Eve, walking with our glorious God in the peace of the garden? Tragedy of tragedies-they chose to give up that glorious place for something to eat! Fasting prepares the way for God to communicate clearly with you, to give you fresh revelations, fresh visions, and clear purpose. You are already past the seventh day. Do not grow weary. Stay the course; finish the race. An incredible reward awaits you on the other side."

As I was reading Jentezen's words, the thought came to me that this fast is more than about you and me.  It's more than just us getting closer to God for ourselves and seeing miracles in our own lives, although that WILL HAPPEN!  Yet, this fast is also about others. The reward will be to see others that we know, or will come to know this year, who have been affected because of our willingness to fast and pray.

"Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." James 5:17 

Were those crops just for Elijah?  I don't think so.  Elijah's obedience and sacrifice caused others to be motivated to serve God, caused weather patterns to change, and caused God's blessing to rain down on the earth, producing relief for a drought stricken nation.

Question: Who's going to be blessed by your obedience?

Day 7 (or 3 for some)

Whether you're doing the Daniel Fast (DF), a full fast, or fasting a specific item or activity, we have to remember that it's more about Him than it is about us!  In the early days of our fasting, it's so easy to get distracted by the action itself of denying ourselves. However, we need to focus on what we're gaining as well! I would encourage you to read the comments on Day Two from Amy Riccio about her testimony on day 5. Let's rejoice in what God is doing and look forward to what He is about to do. Share your testimonies along the way as well.

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6) Fasting helps separate what we want from what we need. It causes us to focus on the things that matter instead of the things that distract.

Practical Stuff for Daniel Fasters

I know, it's been a few days since I last posted, but I've been scavenging my pantry and fridge for something to eat!! Seriously, I wanted to put this short post in to open up the discussion for those of us on the Daniel Fast. Others are doing various types of fasting, which I am so grateful for. 

For DF's I found a treasure yesterday. I LOVE peanut butter, it's my weakness. Peter Pan Crunchy on Mrs. Baird's White Loaf w/ apricot preserves is my downfall. Joni went to the Grocery store last night and came home with a prize: Smuckers Organic Peanut Butter!  For even the most strict Daniel Fasters, here's the ingredients: peanuts, less than 1% salt. Isn't that awesome!! It tastes just like the ingredients say, but it's so good with bananas or just from the spoon.

If you have a recipe, a good alternative, or a good find, let us know by commenting to this post!

Day Two

Happy New Year!  I didn't realize just how addicted to sugar and sweets and meat I was until last evening when my head felt like it was about to explode from the overload of the "Holidaze"!  Usually, you start feeling the physical effects of withdrawl in a fast about day 2 or 3, but I guess I overdid it on New Years Eve. I hope you're faring better than I.

I wanted to remind you at the beginning that it's easy to get focused right now on what you "can and can't" eat or drink. According to Isaiah 58, it's not as much about the food as it is about the heart. Taken to extremes, you can say, "I don't even need to fast!", but the real matter is that you are denying yourself something because you want something else more.  What is that something else?  That's between you and Jesus. However, the "something" we all need to have at the heart of our fast is to be close to HIM.  I want to say with the Psalmist:

"O God, You are my God; 

Early (in this year) will I seek You; 

My soul thirsts for You; 

My flesh longs for You 

In a dry and thirsty land 

Where there is no water." 

Psalm 63:1

Let us see breakthrough in our own hearts as well as in our families, our churches, and our neighborhoods.

For more basic information on the Daniel Fast, click HERE to go to Jentezen Franklin's web page on the subject.

The Daniel Fast

Welcome to the official blog of New Day Church's 21-day Daniel Fast.  If you are reading this, it's probably because you have chosen to set your heart with ours towards Jesus at the beginning of 2009. If you haven't yet decided, I only have one question for you, "What have you got to lose?" Well, I'm hoping to lose a lot more than a few flabby pounds. I want to lose my pride, my self-centeredness, and a few other things along the way! Let's lose some stuff together. How about it?

The purpose of this blog is to provide encouragement and a place to share prayer requests as well as answers to prayer. So I'm counting on you to post comments on your progress and share with others, who you may not even know, about what God is doing in your life during this next 21 days. I'll do my best to post every 1-2 days a verse or comment from Jentezen Franklin's fasting journal, or just to tell you how Joni and I are doing on our fasting journey.

I look forward to seeing the breakthrough that Isaiah 58 promises when we set our hearts to fast and pray and do righteous acts along the way.

Blessings!