God truly moved in a very powerful way in and through Awakening.  We’re just blown away by all the testimonies, healings, financial breakthroughs, restored marriages, reconciled relationships, and record numbers of attendance and new salvations.  God is so awesome!

Be sure to mark your calendars now and start making plans for Awakening 2010:

Awakening-2010

Sunday, January 10 – Saturday, January 30

We want to encourage you to continue walking in some of the disciplines you’ve put into place over these last 21 days.  It’s so important that we continue prioritizing our time with God and keep this momentum going strong throughout the year.

Don’t forget!  If you haven’t shared your story about what God has done in your life as a result of Awakening, we want to hear from you!  Simply click here to submit your testimony.

We’d like to share 2 other opportunities taking place later this year in which we can once again, come together as the body of Christ, united behind a cause that is close to God’s heart.

The first of these is SERVOLUTION taking place April 3-9th (the week leading up to Easter) led by Pastor Dino Rizzo, Lead Pastor of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA.

SERVOLUTION is not an event, it’s a way to establish a culture of serving your community.  Infusing this culture into the DNA of your church will change your view of the world and your perspective of the needs of those around you.  We believe that serving is not only a Biblical mandate, but a crucial way to gain the favor and trust of your community.  Log on to http://www.servolution.org/ for more details on how you and your church can become a part of a SERVOLUTION in 2009!

The second opportunity we want to share with you is ONE PRAYER starting June 6-7th, led by Pastor Craig Groeschel, Lead Pastor of LifeChurch.tv.

In June 2008, God worked in amazing ways as more than one billion believers came together for ONE PRAYER.  We shared powerful video teaching, fasted together, prayed together, served together and gave to a united cause.  This year, we’re joining forces again for an extraordinary worldwide experience.  As we work together, we’ll have the opportunity to leave a permanent imprint of Christ on the world.  Log on to http://2009.oneprayer.com/ for more details on how you and your church can become a part of ONE PRAYER in 2009!

John 21:4-5 NKJV
“But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”

In John 21, their Lord had been crucified and Peter, along with some of the other disciples had gone back to fishing. This is what they knew best prior to Jesus’ ministry. Sometimes we get impatient, waiting for something we know God has promised. We go back to what we were good at, only to find it’s just not the same.

When you have tried everything and when you have no options left. When you’ve fished all night and caught nothing. When you say Jesus, I have nothing, it is in that place where we come to the end of ourselves and begin to discover Him. Like the disciples, we too find Jesus waiting on the shore. Not only waiting but also with fish on the fire. Jesus is always waiting for us with just what we need-no matter where we’ve been, no matter what we’ve done. What a good God we serve.

Here are some random thoughts:

• For those of you who have been total fasting or participating in any food type fasts, end your fast gradually. If you have been off of solid foods for 21 days, you could damage your body seriously by eating too much too fast. Click Here for some basic instructions.

• Even if you’re not breaking a food fast, reintroduce the things that you fasted from slowly.

• Be open to the fact that some of the things you fasted from may never be a part of your life again. Or if they are, maybe not at the same level they were before the fast.

• Don’t stop praying just because the prayer focus is over. In fact, you need to get ready for Satan’s counterattack. Remember Jesus was tempted right after His 40 day fast. I’m sure the enemy will try the same thing with you.

Hope these tips help you. What are some of your own tips or thoughts on breaking a fast?

Chris Hodges
Lead Pastor
Church of the Highlands

Mary had experienced a powerful encounter with Jesus. But He didn’t want her to stop there.

John 20:17 NKJV
“Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”

Mary still wanted to hold onto Him. But Jesus spurred Mary on and commissioned her to share with the disciples about His ascension. Jesus had not yet risen with God – He was still on the move.

During our 21 days of prayer and fasting, most of us have experienced moments when we’ve caught a fresh revelation of Jesus. Overwhelmed by a fresh sense of His grace or faithfulness, realizing anew the power of His resurrection, or witnessing an eye-opening miracle firsthand.

But what will you do with this powerful discovery? How will you tell others about your encounter?

Share your personal testimonies (click here).  Even as the prayer and fasting concludes, God is still on the move!

1. Jehoshaphat Overcame by Making God a Priority.
He turned his attention to seek the Lord. Like a laser beam, Jehoshaphat became focused on God. Every situation in life can cause us to refocus on Christ in a new and fresh way. In our twenty one days of prayer and fasting, hopefully you have come to know Christ better and deeper than ever before.

2. Jehoshaphat Overcame by Making Fasting a Priority. (2 Chronicles 20:3)
He disciplined his life to seek God by detaching himself from everything that would preoccupy him from what was really important.

Nothing makes us focused like fasting. Fasting for me has always caused me to see how strong the world’s pull and food really is. It’s amazing how preoccupied we are about our next meal and when we’re going to eat it. Fasting has always caused me to trust God more for strength and energy. In God, we are never stronger than when we are weak. I believe fasting signals to God that we are serious about His involvement in our lives.

3. Jehoshaphat Overcame by Fasting and Praying with Other Believers.
2 Chronicles 20:4 says, “Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah.”

How pleased the Lord had to be, and how pleased He is to see hundreds of cities and churches gather together like Judah for twenty one days of fasting and prayer. Jesus said where two or more are gathered, He is in the midst of them, and I believe God has been in the middle of this fast. He may be more pleased about our coming together than He is our fasting.

As we come to the end of these twenty one days, I pray the same peace that came upon Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:30) would come upon us all as we continue to seek God together.

God is moving and will continue to move as we pray and fast.

Joe Champion
Lead Pastor
Celebration Church, Georgetown, TX

Jesus understood the scope of His rights, yet He always chose to submit them to whatever would bring honor to God.

“…Don’t you realize I have the power to release you or crucify you?’ (Pilate speaking) Then Jesus said, ‘You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above’ …” John 19:10-11 (NLT)

We know Jesus had the power to immediately put a stop to everything… if He wanted to. But instead, what we see here is a picture of total surrender and submission to authority by Jesus.

Jesus had the right to call down ten thousand angels, but He chose to do what was right for God’s children. Jesus came to fulfill the will of the Father, and knowing that this suffering and His crucifixion was the only way the plan of salvation could be accomplished, “He gave up His divine privileges” (Philippians 2:7). He didn’t stop it all just because He could; He was looking at the bigger picture, God’s greater purposes.

What greater purpose or will do you think God is calling you to? What “rights” might you have to surrender to step into this call? Choose what is right.

Psalm 71:12 MSG
“…while I stretch out, reaching for you, and daily add praise to praise. I’ll write the book on your righteousness, talk up your salvation the livelong day, never run out of good things to write or say…”

As we come into the last few days of fasting, you may have found yourself settling into a routine, not stretching like you maybe did in the beginning, and becoming stale and stagnant. Just like our muscles can get used to a work out and we stop seeing results, our spiritual life can become routine and we stop seeing results. That’s why things like Awake21 and other spiritual disciplines are so important to stretch our faith and walk with Christ.

I encourage you to push through to the end! Just like you push the last 10 minutes of a workout to get to the end, push through with everything you have. Enjoy the last few days and finish strong. Remember, stretching is good.

Rob Ketterling
Lead Pastor
River Valley Church

Jesus answered Pilate’s questioning of His kingship with these words “everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37). In other words, we too will listen to him (openly invite and receive His Word into our lives) when we take the side of truth. This is the place of raw authenticity with God. This is the place where real change happens.

As you seek God with honesty, draw closer to this place of wholehearted truthfulness with Him. It is there He will speak… it is there you will hear.

It is so important that we finish strong and stay true to whatever commitment we made for this season.

Tomorrow, we begin the last stretch of the fast with a 3-Day Fast. Whatever level of participation you have had in this season of prayer and fasting, we encourage you to “take it up a notch” and end this season with an even stronger intensity of seeking God.

Here are just a couple more testimonies of all the several we’ve received throughout Awakening:

Rob writes:
“This is just what I needed to get refocused and heading back on track. My prayers are coming back to life in strength and my time with the Lord becoming deeper. My heart is once again responding..”

Saritza writes:
“I have been fasting from the very start and I want to say in the first week of fasting, God healed my heartache, anger and bitterness…something I thought would never go away…”

1. All the churches participating in Awakening – That we would have maximum effectiveness in advancing the Kingdom of God in 2009 and that God would do everything He wants to do in our churches and ministries.

2. Believers in the churches participating in Awakening – We are praying for the believers in your churches and their individual prayer requests.

3. The Body of Christ – That as a whole, the Body of Christ would be all that God wants us to be in 2009.

4. Pastors and Spiritual Leaders – That we would be men and women after God’s own heart and live a life worthy of the Gospel.