I remember in high school football being promoted to the defensive end position. I used to be a peanut. In fact, "peanut" was a nickname my parents called me (not a huge confidence booster for football).
But I had finally grown, and had been working out with weights, so I was getting stronger.  However, the defensive end position meant that I would have to face larger guys, and a very large running back.  I have to admit, I was intimidated.

The moment came in practice, where the ball was snapped, and all the players around me got cleared out..and here came the running back, barreling down on me like a locomotive!  Thanks to my timidity, he leveled me on the field in front of the whole team...and I got an earful from the coach.  But I'll never forget his words that day!

He said, "Wehde, I've seen you in that weight room.  You've Got The Power In You - USE IT!"

As soon as I realized he was right...I put my shoulder down, found the power within, and leveled that guy for a loss!

Today Christians are losing battles to large running backs every day!
So many get defeated by the attacks of the enemy, or even by the simple pressures of the world. Marriages and families are crumbling, work environments are toxic, finances are shackled in debt, and addictions are at an all time high!  And this is the CHURCH!  It's as if we're powerless over these things.
But the Apostle Paul, like my football coach, stands up and encourages us about what's IN US. He says, "be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. (Ephesians 6:10-11)

The word "power" comes from the Greek "kratos," and means "demonstrative force." It is the exertion power that is executed upon action.  It is the outward manifestation of the strength God's filled you with.

Coach Paul is saying,You've Got God's Power In You - USE IT

This word is huge for our spiritual walk.  The truth is, God has put DYNAMITE Power IN us, the same power He used to resurrect Jesus from the dead! (Ephesians 1:19-20, read it here).
BUT, if that power just RESTS inside us, and never gets called into action, then we are doomed to get leveled by the Running Back of the Evil World.  That would be like being given Dynamite, but never igniting it!

We have the ability to take on this spiritual warfare the Bible speaks of, and with this Demonstrative, Explosive Power - advance in our walk, look more like Christ, and help His Kingdom Advance.
This power from God has been displayed all throughout history...from the acts of Creation, parting of the Red Sea, Raising of Jesus Christ...and in all the ways He worked in your life.

He put that same power INSIDE of you so you could demonstrate it in those times of battle!

We have an enemy who does NOT want us to experience God's power.  Satan wants you to think you are weak, a failure, and powerless to change things.  But you're not!
Remind yourself that he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4), and that all those hours you spend in the spiritual gym of reading Scripture, praying, and connecting with God's people will amount to an amazing power of God within you, if you just call it out in faith!

There's NO reason that God's people should live in defeat over ANYTHING!  We have His mighty power to win battles for great marriages and families, over addictions, over financial debts, and even for becoming influences in our neighborhood and workplace.
But you have to believe it's IN YOU, ready to be used!

"You got the Power in you - now use it!"

Next Steps
1. Reflect on times in your life where God demonstrated a supernatural power to help you.
Write them here:

2. Now stop and thank Him for those times of victory! (A grateful heart opens a door for more of what you're grateful for.)

3. Write down certain areas of your life that you feel defeated and powerless.
Is it your marriage?  Is it your fight over an addiction?  Is it a workplace or family situation? Debt?
Areas of Defeat:

4. Now ask God to well up HIS POWER within you for the victory in these areas. SPEAK out loud exactly what you desire to see happen for a victory.  Declare it!
Write out what victory looks like here:

5. Ask others to walk with you in the belief that you will see victory, and ask them to help you stay strong as you take the necessary steps needed to win the battle.  Some battles take longer than others, and need more steps, but His power is sufficient for the whole journey!
I will ask THESE people to walk with me:

Let's end the Fast this week invoking the full POWER of God on our lives to see many victories in 2020!

Pastor Mike

My wife Cori and I pray that as you are reading this, you have already seen God moving in not only yourself but even in those around you. 

This leads me to the next………..What “if” you are still waiting for that miracle? What if you are still waiting for the breakthrough? What if you're still waiting for that healing? What if………...well……….you get the point. Here we are on day 17 and maybe this is you. You're still waiting and waiting. 

You probably feel as if you have prayed every prayer possible. Maybe you are feeling like you don’t even have any more words to say. Or that God may not even be listening to you. You may be at the point where you just want to give up. 

HOWEVER, I am here to tell you differently! KEEP FIGHTING! 

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”.   Philippians 1:6

The next time you’re feeling vulnerable, or you feel like your life is under attack. Or your emotions are pulling you down. The next time these feelings are hitting you hard, instead of running away from it, RECOGNIZE it. Recognize it for WHAT it is. Let’s look at these feelings as a deposit that GOD has placed inside us all. 

It means YOU HAVE SOMETHING GOOD! God is in the process of molding you out into what HE wants you to be. 

None of us would be vulnerable if we were not VALUABLE! 

That is why we struggle sometimes with negative thinking and “stinkin thinkin”. That is because the enemy knows that if we ever break out of this thinking and break out of our silence, that “thing” that was holding and weighing us down gets sent back right to the very pits of hell where it came from. It’s got NO hold on you, EVER!

This is why sometimes we may feel sad and we don’t really even know why. That is because there is something very good and valuable in us all. So good and so valuable that once it gets out (because it will) it begins to wreak havoc on ANYTHING that stands in the way of our purpose for God. 

So even though we may be vulnerable, and that’s alright, our vulnerability points to our value. We are all filled with His goodness!

Church, let’s all finish this race set out before us together!! Keep pushing and keep fighting. We love you Lifecoast!

Leo Salgado

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Hello Lifecoast Family. God’s blessings upon you as we are in the last stretch of our 21 days of prayer and fasting. For those of you who have given up a substance, such as tobacco, alcohol, chocolate, at this point, your body has purged itself of the chemicals of those items and is clean. Congratulations.

But let me guess, you are still having cravings, desires, wants for these items you have given up, right? Understand that it is not your body that is doing the craving, it is your mind. The battle for your body is mainly in your mind. That is why God tells us:

“In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24 NASB).

The Apostle Paul also said:

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The Greek word translated here as attitude is the word phroneo (sorry, but the Bible nerd has to come out sometimes), which also translates into “mind.” We are to have the same mind as Christ. 

I know that it is just not as easy as telling our mind, “Now look here, mind, I am the boss, and you have to do what I tell you, ok?” It takes time and effort to bring “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Co. 10:5).

I was having a tough time with the fasting and praying this go around. I seemed to be able to give up the different foods and the time spent on electronic devices, but I was having a really hard time fully pressing in with my prayer life. While I was securing extra time to put towards prayer, I was finding that something new would pop up and interfere with my praying. I would attempt to examine what was going on, but the answer was alluding me. I couldn’t figure it out, and my anxiety about missing prayer was getting to the point that I was getting emotionally stirred up. I began to feel like Jacob when he was wrestling with God.

Genesis 32 tells the story of how Jacob was returning home and was bound up with his emotions concerning his brother Esau and how their reunion would go. At a certain point in his travels, he sends his family across a stream to go ahead of him, and he stays behind for a little bit alone. Suddenly there was a man there, and they began to wrestle all night long. Jacob was wrestling with God. This is how I was feeling. I felt like I was wrestling with God over my prayer and fasting, and it was doing a number on my emotions. 

Then we had our night of Prayer and Worship at the community center. I was an emotional wreck. The Worship team plays a couple of songs, and my heart is pounding out of my chest. Then Pastor Ryan speaks and prays about how someone is feeling like there are so many things that have to be done when they first wake up, and I thought, “that sounds like me.” Then brother Greg came up behind me, laid hands on me and began to pray, and I heard God say, “You are not wrestling with me, son, you are wrestling with the world.” And it was at that moment when I realized what had happened. 

The battle in my mind between the things of God and the things of the world was in full attack mode. My old self was not wanting to make the change that my new self was trying to make. I was struggling with the spiritual forces of wickedness. The influence of the world and its comforts were making a charge, and I had taken my eyes off of the fact that it is God who fights my battles. 

That is when I made a total surrender to God. Up to that point, I had been trying to do this prayer and fasting under my own power and it was not working. I had to surrender to God and let Him direct my path. When I did that, a wave of total peace washed over my body, and I was at rest. I no longer felt like I was wrestling with anything. 

Have you given a total surrender to God concerning your fasting and praying? Are you allowing God to direct your path? While there are some things that we can do for ourselves when it comes to prayer and fasting for Godly miracles, we have to surrender to God and allow Him to do His work. We need to get out of His way. 

I pray that in these last days of our prayer and fasting, you go before God and fully surrender your life to Him. Give over any control you think you have over your life and “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

 Jeff Howell

God and I have been arguing.  He keeps sending me signs of where he wants me to focus, and I keep saying, “No, that is not really what I want to do!”  But through a lot of prayer and the help of a dear friend who is a good listener and an encourager, I am going to obey. My first thought was, I am too old for this!

Getting old can be a very difficult season in life.  Achy bones, sometimes illness, and the knowledge and realization that “I am not going to live forever.”  Let’s face it, when we are young we seldom think about getting old and dying. I remember when my mother, who was a very strong and energetic woman began failing and her health declined, I wondered how she managed to go on!  We don’t truly understand the challenges of growing old until we get here. 

The world tells us to fight getting older.  Billions of dollars are spent on products and drugs to get rid of wrinkles, fight hair loss, keep our brains sharp, etc.  .I believe that a good diet and exercise are very important if we want to stay healthy. But we will still grow old. 

I myself am banking on Psalm 92: 13-14:   13 Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God   14They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,

We have purpose in our older years.  God will use us if we allow Him to. We just need to quit listening to the world and to our own doubts and fears.  We need to stop dwelling on what we used to be able to do, but can’t any longer and focus on what we are able to do. God has purpose for all of us, and one person’s purpose is no more important that someone else’s. Grace, love, mercy and forgiveness are absolutely necessary for survival in this uncertain world -  especially when we are older.

So, early in the morning, while most people are still asleep, I talk to and listen to Jesus.  Each day I am excited about what that day might bring. I pray He reveals to me where he is working so I might join him.  I thank him for all the blessings he has given me in my life. I also thank him for some of the very hard times that he has brought me through.    Then I reach out to others who I feel may need encouragement. 

Get excited, my friends!  Our God loves us and wants us to get closer to Him- even when we are old and wrinkled. 

Jamie Ballou

It seemed I had gobs of time before I had babies. I’d wake up early and spend an hour reading the Bible and praying. I had a process for everything I did and it wouldn’t be a far stretch to call myself a perfectionist. I’ve always struggled to understand God’s love outside of my performance.

When I had kids, my time suddenly disappear altogether. Between the ridiculous amount of endless poopy diapers, laundry, constant feedings….while also trying to help support our family financially, it seemed there was no more time in the day. I found myself getting bitter because I had NO idea how anyone stayed close to God while having children so close together.

If I woke up early, my kids would somehow sense it and wait for me at the crack of dawn begging to be fed. If I tried to get to church early to serve, one would do a big number 2 all over my clothes right before. After scrubbing yellow infant poop out of everything (walls included), we’d finally leave. And then my toddler would be mad I forgot her Minnie Mouse and throw a screaming tantrum all the way to church. 

I’d end up in tears and late, hoping no one would judge me for not loving Jesus and praying they wouldn’t smell my new mom perfume, Eau de Toilette. 

I’ve always been an advocate for how discipline can change our lives. But often, we can confuse perfection for God’s presence. When God gave us the Law in the Bible, it was to be followed out of the outpouring of an experience with him. The Israelites were to remember how they were liberated from Egypt and followed God through a pillar of cloud and fire. The presence of God was always supposed to be the motivator.

Yet so many of us get it backwards. And we try to use the Law to follow a regime that will lead us to this presence. But perfection doesn’t lead to presence.

In this season of trying to balance motherhood and working, I’m embracing God’s presence in the messy rather than all the processes I *thought* he required. I’m learning how to cultivate his presence wherever I am.

By praying out loud on my car rides every morning (even with screaming babies in the back). Worshipping during breakfast with my kids and dancing around the living room with them. Posting scriptures on the kitchen window so I can memorize while I do dishes. Or by leaving my Bible where I nurse so I can easily flip open the pages. 

I am pursuing God’s call on my life by raising up the next generation. God is not faulting me for that. But he is asking to re-define the way I experience him. And in turn, he is giving me an authentic encounter with him daily. One that is not so clean and perfect, but is messy and vulnerable and apparent for my children to see. 

Chelsie Antos

I had allowed Satan to get ahold of my weaknesses and run with it.  But yet, I did nothing about it. I was content being in the background while my husband continued to step out, more and more in faith.

Going through the Experiencing God study helped me realize that I needed to get up and start serving His people again.  How could I experience all that God had to offer me if I wasn't willing to step out of my comfort zone? Matthew 11:24 says, "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."  So I began asking for prayer instead of being ashamed that, as a leader, I was having these struggles. I stepped back into ministry knowing that I needed to serve and that serving others would help in my healing.  

All good now right?  Nope. I was still continuing to believe the lies.  Lies that I had believed for so long that I caught myself still speaking them aloud to others.  It was not enough to just know that I had an issue and to know I was ready to make a change. It was time to take another step out of my comfort zone.  

For this fast I decided I was going to ask God to give me opportunities to step out and face my fears.  Day 1, I made an effort to connect with someone new. She and I have shared what we are fasting for and committed to pray for each other not knowing that God had spoken to my husband about doing the same with her husband.  Later that week while in mid sentence, I stopped and felt God telling me that I needed to stop verbalizing my weaknesses and instead speak in expectation. "I will show confidence during my meetings at work today", "I am strong", "I am smart".  Sounds a bit corny, but it works!! It is true that what you speak in your life will come to pass.

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." 

Proverbs 18:21

I am expecting a transformation of my mind and believe it or not, I am already experiencing strength.  I am finding Joy in serving and connecting with others again. I can no longer hide in the background and expect to grow and for God to be ok with that.  During this fast I urge you to step out in expectation to what God has for you. Speak it and believe it. Do not stand in the shadows and expect miracles.  Step out and expect great things to happen!!

Natasha Glover

Someone close to me always tells me, “Anything of great worth to you is going to take effort to get it.”   Now that seems like an obvious phrase, but it doesn’t seem obvious in the middle of exerting all that effort.

We’d rather have things come easy, especially when they come from God, and even more especially if its something God has promised. If He has it for us, why not give it to us? Why must we wait, or worse, why must we work for it? I thought God specialized in Free!

Think about Abram.  He received a promise of a great name, and becoming a great nation.  And I believe God has put similar promises and dreams in our hearts when He created us!  
The Bible says that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9)
This is true for YOU as much as it was for Abram!  God has DREAM for YOU!

But God's dream for Abram wasn't going to happen until Abram did the work God requested to get him into position to receive that promise - "Leave your land."    YOUR LAND.

Your land is the land you know, your comfort zone, your safety net, your familiar place of complacency.   I don't know much about Haran, other than it was outside of present-day Iraq.  But I do know that for Abram, and any of us:

Staying where you ARE is always easier than leaving there.  

Its always easier to stay.   Even if you are not happy with your current circumstances, remaining in your Haran is easier than leaving.  Because going to the unknown is scary, it could be dangerous, it could require a lot more...FAITH!

And that's the point.  To STAY where you are takes NO faith.   That's why God is never satisfied with us staying in ANY place too long.  He has MORE for you in the next season. And He's given you glimpses of that throughout your life, through your hopes and dreams. 
But to receive what God has for you takes great faith, which is going to require you to leave your Haran and get to work, i.e. Take steps.  Start the journey!

The question is - What's His dream for you WORTH to you?

During this fast - I am praying that you are getting a glimpse of what God has for you...His dream for you.  But I am also challenging you to get ready to leave your Haran.  Leaving your Big Mac or T.V. or land of complacency over these 3 weeks is just a symbolic preparation for the greater work that He will have for you to do to get to your dream's fulfillment.  So don't just go BACK to that thing or food after we're done.  Seek what more the Lord has for you, it' worth it!

And "Anything of great worth to you is going to take effort to get it."
But when you get there - you will be blessed, and you will be a blessing.

Faith-filled Next Steps:
1. Where have you "stayed too long" in your life so that you have become complacent and comfortable? 

Is it a lifestyle, a pattern, a job or even a relationship? 
(These are ruts or distractions that take up your time and energy, keeping you from other things God may have.)

2. Describe some of the hopes and dreams God has put in your heart for your life over time that you may have let slip away with time.

3. List certain steps you could take in this next season that could move you away from time-stealing distractions and lifestyles and move you toward experiencing His dreams for you that could create a powerful new life of faith in Jesus.

4. Pray that Jesus can give you the courage to leave certain things to step into this new season, and then Share these with someone and ask them to pray for you to take those steps!

Pastor Mike 

I love January! It feels like a new start, a chance to wipe the old slate clean and start again! Especially since we started participating in the 21 days of prayer and fasting back in 2009. It has actually been one of the only good “habits” I have been faithful to adhere to. I am not much of a habit girl. I am more of a spontaneous, fly by the seat of my pants kinda girl. I like variety. I love change, Weird, I know. Now I know habits are a good thing, well, except when they are bad, but good habits can truly make your life better. That’s what this fast is all about. We replace “not so good” habits with “good” habits or as I like to say, “God distracting habits” with “God Glorifying habits”. Some of us have COMPLETELY given up something that we must feel distracts us from glorifying God, think Facebook, Sweets, Video Games, television, non-Worship music. We replace those with things that draw us closer to God and help us to hear clearly what He could be doing in us to give Him the Glory in our lives and that is AWESOME!

Many of us will be closer to God at the end of January than we are for the rest of the year. If that doesn’t make you go “hmm”, read that last line again. What I am pretty much saying is that we will live on a mountain top with Jesus in January and then settle for the valleys and an occasional hilltop experience for the other 11 months of the year. Why? Well it’s usually because we return, full force, to those God distracting habits. I really want to challenge you. No, if you gave up social media COMPLETELY for the fast I am not about to challenge you to give it up completely, forever, but maybe, if you chose to abandon a practice all together for 21 days, maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t the best “habit” to have. I just think that if we could return to our regularly scheduled programs, with less well, regularity when these 21 days are over, we would still have that extra time to spend hearing God’s guidance and direction for our lives.

So there you have it. My thoughts and revelations from this fast so far. I have been loving how God has been showing up and showing off and would love to hear about His manifesting in your life during these 21 days.

To GOD be ALL the GLORY,

Jenni Allen

16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (NLT)

Here are some key phrases that stood out to me:

Always be joyful. Like always? Really, Paul? Always? Even when bad things happen? Even when I lose my job? Even when a family member gets diagnosed with cancer? How? How are we supposed to do this? Well, Paul, probably knowing we’d have these questions, answers the questions. “For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” In Christ is the key. You and I can’t rejoice always on our own, but in Christ we can. In Christ we can rest in the peace that surpasses understanding. Rejoice always, in Christ, even when it’s hard. 

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Did you know that we can stifle the Holy Spirit? We can stifle the Holy Spirit through lack of faith, rejection of His movements, suppression of an expression of the Holy Spirit or sin in our lives. The key to not stifling the Holy Spirit is to be in tune with what the Holy Spirit is doing. And the key to staying in tune with Holy Spirit is emptying yourself of things that keep you from God and filling yourself with things that bring you closer to him (AKA fasting). So you’re on the right track, keep it up!

Hold on to what is good. It’s so easy to focus on the negative in life. There are negative things all around us. And now that we live in a world that is so connected via the internet and social media, it seems there is so much more negative around us. That’s why it’s so important for us to hold onto what is good, even if they just seem like little things. Hold tight to your loved ones. Celebrate everything you can. And keep holding on. 

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NLT)

I love you all and happy fasting,

Pastor Caleb

It wasn’t until years later I came to understand that rose-colored glasses are a lot like Kingdom glasses. Kingdom glasses don’t ignore the bad, but they see the good that is coming to be through all things. The Kingdom of God DOES operate on a different reality that we are called to recognize. The Bible says He “works all things for the good of those who are called according to his purpose.” And Jesus says he came to bring “life and life abundant.” Seeing things through God’s perspective is what makes us different than the world.  

As I prayed through what God wanted me to share for these 21 days, I thought of several cool, catchy things that might have a click-bait like reaction instead of what God was truly pressing in on. Then when I was driving home from church this Sunday, I reflected on how God has changed me from a frustrated realist to a faithful optimist. 

I realized that not only am I called to see through rose-colored glasses, but that God chose to SEE ME through rose-colored glasses. God is well aware of my sin, your sin, future sin, and all sorts of sin. He is fully aware of the evils that take place and the injustices that happen every moment. But he CHOOSES to see us believers through rose-colored glasses. He chooses to take on a lens of seeing the good, even though He is well aware of the bad. That is a Kingdom perspective. He loves us, spiritual warts and all. 

So today, do like your Father does and put on on some rose-colored glasses when you look at life this week! Wear your Kingdom glasses to see and speak the good happening all around you.

Pastor Ryan

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

I truly pray that each of you will be filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with love of Christ and filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

As I was praying before the fast, I was asking God what I needed to change. I felt that God wanted me to change my hope to expectation. Now what does that mean? Well, here’s what he showed me. 

If you’re like me, sometimes you fall into a season of hope rather than expectation. You hope God shows up, but you don’t really expect it. You hope God heals your relationships, but you don’t expect it. You hope for breakthrough but you don’t expect it.  

Now don’t get me wrong, hope is a good thing. But I think, especially in our faith journey, we tend to manage our expectations. Maybe it’s because you’ve been part of our fasts in years past and maybe God didn’t show up the way you expected, so you manage your expectations for this year so you’re not disappointed. Or maybe, this is your first time doing something like this so you’ve managed your expectations because you don’t know what to expect. 

Well today, I want to encourage you to stop managing expectations and expect great things! I want you to raise your expectations of God. And I want you expect that He is going to come through for you! Don’t put God in a box. Don’t limit God just because He hasn’t shown up in the way you’ve wanted in the past. The truth is He can and will do great things. 

Don’t believe me? Check out this passage:

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine! Immeasurably more is a LOT more than we ask or imagine. Let God blow your mind.  

So during these next 2 weeks (and beyond), let’s come to God with expectant hearts. Let’s expect greatness from our great God. 

I commit to stand at the end of this fast and proclaim the goodness of our God! Who’s with me?!

I love you all and happy fasting,

Pastor Caleb

As the fasting “from” and “for” emails entered my account over the course of the first few days of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting from the sisters who wanted to be part of a Surrender Group, I felt exhilarated over their commitment to this church-wide fasting journey. However, while reading the content of each communication, I literally began feeling a sense of panic. I found myself considering the overwhelming burden of such a responsibility and then immediately felt an unexplainable urgency to make sure God heard every need and cry for His mercy and grace over some truly cataclysmic circumstances.

Then I remembered something I had read recently which said, in the natural, when things seem out of control and nothing YOU’VE tried fixes a thing, you may resort to holding up a white flag in surrender and totally giving up as if all is lost, but in the spiritual, when you are a child of the One true King, you GET to surrender all of the circumstances which are weighing you down and crushing your spirit to the person of Jesus Christ; the One who paid it all.

This thought comforted me somewhat, yet the aching in my heart for the situations these emails revealed and how each sister was willing to surrender it all by being transparent in exposing the pain and hurts touched me deeply, so much so, that tossing and turning was all I could do until I cried out to Him asking, “Lord, did I take on too much? Do you really want me to facilitate this support group?”

As it always does, talking to Him and listening to a favorite worship song, (Waymaker in this case) helped me drift off, and in the morning….

THE Word, yes, Jesus answered me through the following Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:9-10 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-3. He reminded me that He has given us the privilege of becoming intercessors. So if your heart is burdened with the fasting “fors” of the brothers and sisters you are partnering with, please join me in thanking Him for calling us into service in His Kingdom. We belong to a royal priesthood!!!!

One of the most important ways that a priest represented people before God, I’ve learned, was to intercede for them. As believers in Christ and imitators of His ways, we are to be like those priests representing the hurting by  carrying their petitions in prayer to God; spoken in Him and through Him. Over time, I’ve realized that intercession is not about presenting God with a laundry list of demands or requests. Instead it involves spending time in God’s presence, seeking His will, and being guided by His Spirit as we offer up prayers on behalf of others.

As Evelyn Underhill put it: Each time you take a human soul with you into your prayer, you accept from God a piece of spiritual work with all its implications and with all its cost- a cost which may mean for you spiritual exhaustion and darkness, and may even include vicarious suffering, the Cross. In offering yourselves on such levels of prayer for the sake of others, you are offering to take your part in the mysterious activities of the spiritual world; to share the saving work of Christ…..Real intercession is not merely a petition but a piece of work, involving costly surrender to God for the work he wants done on other souls. 

Yikes, no wonder I couldn’t sleep that night! Thanks, Evelyn, your words perfectly explain the reason for what I experienced while reading the beautiful, yet raw, transparent and yes, even heart wrenching words emailed to me from the women, I now lovingly call my Intercessory Sisters! 

It is my hope that you will join me in asking Jesus to increase your desire to be more like Him, to speak His Word with a pure heart, and to reflect His love by becoming an intercessor, taking others into your heart so that you can carry them into God’s presence through prayer.

Love you, Lifecoast family

Jane Butler

I always wondered how you could impress Jesus.  Being an overachiever (to a fault), I naturally assumed that as long as you work harder, sacrifice more, and sin less, then Jesus would have to be impressed!
But is He?

The Pharisees taught us how NOT to impress Jesus.  They were the Perfectionists at obedience.  They were the Dudley Do-Rights of the Bible.  Everyone was jealous of their "sinless" presence....everyone except Jesus.    
Perfectionism never impressed Jesus, because, well, it's a lie.  No one is perfect but Him...and anyone who tried simply became more of a sinner because of their pride and arrogance.   

Nope - striving for perfection will NEVER impress Jesus.

What does?
In Matthew 8, a leader told Jesus that He didn't have to travel to heal the leader's servant, but he had enough faith that as long as Jesus said the word, the servant would be healed.  Verse 10 reads, "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. And his servant was healed at that moment."   The word "amazed" here means to "be filled with admiration, to be pleased."

This passage teaches us that the one way to impress Jesus is to HAVE GREATER FAITH!  

Jesus loves when we have Big Faith, and ask Big Requests!
And this changes the whole Journey for me....and for my fast. 
If I don't have to impress Jesus with "perfect obedience," then I don't need to strive so hard at being perfect, like making all the right decisions, identifying all my sins, or even nailing this fast.  

Not that it's ok if I go ahead and eat that ham pizza.  (I want to!)
I'm not fasting FROM pizza to please Jesus with my abilities.
I'm fasting FOR greater faith in what I'm praying for, and that pleases Jesus.
And I BELIEVE that my greater faith can actually move the hand of God!  Do you?  You should, because He loves you THAT much.  The Father would never give you a stone when you ask for bread! (Matthew 7:9)

So, when I resist pizza, it drives me to ask God for more...more faith, and more of His hand in my life!  
But if I slip up, it's ok, because the very next day I can get RIGHT BACK to my fast, because what's important is that my fast is driving me to greater faith, not perfection.

So what are YOU fasting FOR this season?  Is it something that requires great faith?  
I would encourage you to Dream and Ask God for bigger things.  He loves that!  He's not afraid of your biggest request!

Then use your fast each day (no matter how you did yesterday) as a tool to drive you to deeper prayer, allowing you to focus on increasing your faith in God towards answering your big prayer!

Growing in my faith WITH you.

Ps Mike

For me, this year’s fast is aimed at stimulating a greater daily thirst for Jesus, that then sustains me throughout the day’s dryness, struggles and cravings.

To be honest, I don’t always start my day with reading the Bible. I instead choose to stare at other people’s lives on social media while I sip coffee and get awake enough to face the day.

As I stare at those other people’s lives I know I’m typically not gaining encouragement for my day but instead I’m often growing in envy and discouragement.

As I stare at other people’s lives I often don’t gain guidance for living a better life, I instead gain false thoughts and images of what better lives seemingly look like.

For me, the act of fasting is a purposeful emptying of 1 thing in order to be refilled with something else.

This year, in addition to fasting dairy, sugar, & complex carbs, I’m fasting from social media first thing in the morning.

For me, fasting social media first thing in the morning’s purpose is to stir my relationship to God that is asleep, napping and drowsy into a state of alertness & activity FIRST THING so that when the day’s cravings, struggles and demands appear, I’ve already received encouragement and guidance to get through them.

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
Psalms 63:1-5 NIV

I encourage the church to get EMPTY EARLY so that you may get FULLER FASTER with HIS power and HIS glory!

Happy fasting Lifecoast!

Have a great day!

Outline

Have a great day!