every beat of my heart

Monday, September 21, 2009 @2:49 AM

Today is Sunday 20092009
Time 2009 hrs.
Imagine being born now???!!!!
Birthday 20.09.2009 @ 2009hrs
Wow.
Today we wrapped up Partners in Prayer by John Maxwell
Big WOW.... for God's presence .... and our perseverance to learn God's truth

Psa 51:17

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and contrite heart, O God.

Fasting and Prayer
The purpose of fasting is to humble yourself before God.
To fast is to abstain from feeding the body in order to focus on feeding the spirit by seeking God.
Fasting is powerful because you neglect the flesh and its natural desire for eating in order to appeal to God. God pours out His Spirit upon you when you deny yourself to pursue the spiritual.
Mat16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples," If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

Fasting is recorded in both OT/NT
Fasting and self denial are two sides of a coin.

Fasting is often associated with acts of humility before God, such as weeping bowing and mourning.

God's people have always fasted to humble themselves, receive cleansing of sins by repentance,
for spiritual renewal and for special helps.
Esther 4:15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same
Daniel 9:3 So I turned to the Lord and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.
Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Mat 4:1 Then Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry

Q.Is there a role for prayer and fasting (self denial) today?
Q.Why do people fast? Sometimes people fast because

-there are issues that need God's guidance and help
- they want to seek God's face

- it is a sincere way to humble ourselves

Diana shared some hiliarious moments in her fasting experience in the days of her youth with Brother Kai Cheong. Which I won't mention here or we'll be remembering all the wrong things. But was funny.
(food fast soon became fast food for them)

Audrey shared her answered prayers with us pertaining to satisfactory academic results.
God is good to her. Audrey, you must place some rocks in your River Jordon now that you've experienced crossing it with God's help. We rejoice with you my dear. We pray that your tertiary learning
will stand you in good stead in contributing to humanity. Be the light and salt in this world sister, and leave a godly influence wherever you may be. I know you will.

Different types of fasting.
Food Fast

Total fast

Partial fast eg liquid only
Daniel fast eg Vege only. No meat

Media Fast.
This is an interesting concept.
If your life is bombarded with sound Tv inernet all day
Will it be crowded with ? info? news? trash? sexual content? gossip? entertainment?
Has it taken a lot of your prime time in your brain matter?
You decide what's taking up most of your time.
A lot of us, we discovered give substantial time to Facebook /MSN
Music/Youtube/ TV shows.
On the bright side I got to know your preferences as I choked it out of you today.
Its only fair cos you already know mine.
Its 2.40am now. Blog finish liao. Time well spent I guess.

Wheeee tmr is a holiday.

This is the Word of God.

Isaiah 58 True and False Worship

¹ “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
      Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
   Tell my people Israel^[a] of their sins!
    ² Yet they act so pious!
   They come to the Temple every day
      and seem delighted to learn all about me.
   They act like a righteous nation
      that would never abandon the laws of its God.
   They ask me to take action on their behalf,
      pretending they want to be near me.
³ ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
      ‘Why aren’t you impressed?
   We have been very hard on ourselves,
      and you don’t even notice it!’   “I will tell you why!” I respond.
      “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
   Even while you fast,
      you keep oppressing your workers.
⁴ What good is fasting
      when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
   This kind of fasting
      will never get you anywhere with me.
⁵ You humble yourselves
      by going through the motions of penance,
   bowing your heads
      like reeds bending in the wind.
   You dress in burlap
      and cover yourselves with ashes.
   Is this what you call fasting?
      Do you really think this will please the Lord?
⁶ “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
   Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
      lighten the burden of those who work for you.
   Let the oppressed go free,
      and remove the chains that bind people.
⁷ Share your food with the hungry,
      and give shelter to the homeless.
   Give clothes to those who need them,
      and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
⁸ “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
      and your wounds will quickly heal.
   Your godliness will lead you forward,

and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.

⁹ Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
      ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
   “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
      Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
¹⁰ Feed the hungry,
      and help those in trouble.
   Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
      and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
¹¹ The Lord will guide you continually,
      giving you water when you are dry
      and restoring your strength.
   You will be like a well-watered garden,
      like an ever-flowing spring.
¹² Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
      Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
      and a restorer of homes.
¹³ “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
      Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
   but enjoy the Sabbath
      and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
   Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
      and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
¹⁴ Then the Lord will be your delight.
      I will give you great honor
   and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
      I, the Lord, have spoken!

Our Father in heaven. May you grant to each Sparker as we depart to a new harvesting field.

May our godliness lead us forward and the glory of the Lord protect us from behind. Amen