Fasting Day 21 - January 25

You have made it, we will break the fast today! Congratulations! I know some have struggled and stumbled but you picked yourself back up, fasted, and prayed. You have spent more time building your relationship with the Lord! You have sacrificed time and energy to do what He has called you to do.

Expect abundance in return!

Mark 10:29, 30

“So Jesus answered and said, “ Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life”
Jesus was talking with his disciples Matthew 6, explaining to them what God does when people give (verse 3), pray (verses 6, 7) and fast (verses 16,17).

18 “…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Please expect great things in your life from the Lord.

I would also ask that the habit of praying, reading scripture and generally just being with the Lord would be one that you continue even though the fast has ended. God rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Start doing the things God has shown you that are your gifts! Be bold! Believe for miracles! Overcome the junk! Expect great blessing!

Fasting has spiritually, matured you expect to hear and understand the Lord on a much deeper level.

Thank you for taking the risk and for doing something different! Expect the different results in your life!

Read Acts 23 and 24 Paul’s boldness caused even leaders to fear the man of God. Watch and see what God will do for you!

More testimonies will be coming over this entire year, like Daniel, we have prayed and fasted and at the right time, God releases the blessing. Just because the fast is over does not mean the blessing will stop. We are only beginning. Look for them and you will see them! Expect them and they will come!

The things that are impossible with men are possible with God!

Please pray today for

- Pray for our nation and the guidance and peace of God to be on it
- Choose another family in our church to pray for
- Pray for the power of God to flow in our lives, in the Mon Valley, and in our church. I know I keep repeating this but I believe it is one of our greatest needs.
- Pray for every person to know their calling and begin operating in it, in our church!
- Pray for that portion of the fruit of the Spirit that is “Peace”
- Choose a country with a “W, Y, or Z” name to pray for today (find out information by going to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Fasting day 20 - January 24

God will give you a boldness and confidence in being a Child of God!

Read Acts 21 and 22. The apostle Paul shows confidence and boldness all that he does with both friend and foe.

Proverbs 28:1

“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion”

Daniel 11:32b

“but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits”

You have spent 19 days so far seeking the Lord. There should be a confidence in who He is to you and who you are to Him that has built-in you. God speaks to us through the prophet/statesman Daniel saying if we know God we will do great exploits.

Every prayer you pray will be heard and answered. They may not be answered the way you want them but they will be answered. God will lead you, perhaps not where you thought you wanted to go. Both the answers and the leading will be exactly perfect for you!

Our relationship with the Lord should be one of confidence knowing without hesitation that God is good, He is with me and for me, and He has a great plan for me. He loves all the people you see every day and wants them to come to know Him. You are the vessel He wants to use to rock their world.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!” Joshua 1:9

Pray for boldness to rise up within you; a boldness not based in pride but in presence, His presence in you.


Please pray today for

- Pray for Speaker of the House – Nancy Pelosi
- Choose another family in our church to pray for
- Pray for the power of God to flow in our lives, in the Mon Valley, and in our church. I know I keep repeating this but I believe it is one of our greatest needs.
- Pray for the “gifts of the Spirit” to flow freely and clearly in our church
- Pray for that portion of the fruit of the Spirit that is “Joy”
- Choose a country with a “U or V” name to pray for today (find out information by going to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Fasting Day 19 - January 23

God wants to fill you with power!

Acts 1:8 tells us “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”
It is the power of God that makes a difference between Christianity and any other faith. The power of God heals, delivers, restores, but most importantly saves.

As long as we believe God’s power is for other people and not us, we will continue to live under a mindset of limitation. God’s power is distributed to all who are willing to submit to Him. It is God’s desire that every man woman and child come to know Christ. It is His desire that people see Jesus in you and me. It is God’s desire that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. All of these things and more are His plan for you. It takes the power of God to make it happen.

Read Acts 19 and 20.

There are many difficulties we will face because Satan wants to destroy us, our flesh hates us following God and people want us to all stay at their level. If we allow the power of God to flow through us then we will always overcome.

Your power will be linked to two things; your humility and love. God resists that proud but gives grace to the humble. God is love. It is His very character. We become most like Him, as we love.

Please pray today for

- Pray for Senate Majority Leader – Chuck Schumer
- Choose another family in our church to pray for
- Pray for the power of God to flow in our lives, in the Mon Valley, and in our church. I know I keep repeating this but I believe it is one of our greatest needs.
- Pray for our “Go” team. You may not know who they are but this is the committee in the church that supports our mission outreaches.

- Pray for Bill and Sherri Cappalongi, Bill is our minister overseeing our teens. He has a passion for all of our kids and wanting to see them become all the Lord has called them to be. Working closely with Kathleen and Alex to make sure our kids know who the Lord is and who they are in Christ
- Pray for that portion of the fruit of the Spirit that is “Love”
- Choose a country with a “T” name to pray for today (find out information by going to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Fasting day 18 - January 22

Expect God to destroy legalism and Pharisaic thinking.

Here is a bit of an odd scripture that I believe deals with this.

Jeremiah 17:14

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise”
Legalism is a curse, a disease of the spirit. Most of it is rooted in a wounded heart that is trying to control God and people. I know that the word “legalism has also been used by people in rebellion who do not want to submit to authority as well so it is a fine balance of love and self-control.

It is not only Christians that can be legalist. Read Acts chapter 18 and 19 and see the legalism that Paul encounters and how he handles himself and those in bondage.

Love is our ruler to measure whether we are legalists or not. You can even be legalistic about not being legalistic. However, as you press into God it is easy to see what is true faith and what is deception. Place your love for God and his children above all else. Ask the Lord to keep your heart in check.

God may challenge some of your thinking. He may show you ways that you have put Him in a box. Allow the Lord to stretch you and cause you to press more into him. Psalm 103 tells us the difference between those who have true relationship versus those who may be legalistic. “the children of Israel knew God’s acts but Moses knew God’s ways”

Please pray today for

- Pray for the union leaders and the unions in our region. Much of the protection of and representation of the workforce of this region is dependent on the unions. I know some of you have difficulty with this which means you should especially pray!
- Choose another family in our church to pray for
- Pray for the power of God to flow in our lives, in the Mon Valley, and in our church. I know I keep repeating this but I believe it is one of our greatest needs.
- Pray for our Christian Television and Radio stations and all the other broadcast ministries on your cable or satellite system. Many people will watch, listen, and receive strength and encouragement but they too need to be encouraged.

- Pray for Kim Lincoln and Brett, and Kim's staff at our Daycare, Lighthouse Early Learning Center. Kim runs this powerful outreach in our community which has a great reputation.
- Pray for that portion of the fruit of the Spirit that is “Self-Control”
- Choose a country with a “S” name to pray for today (find out information by going to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Fasting Day 17 January 21

God will meet every need!

The scripture that automatically comes to mind is Philippians 4:19

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”

God will supply all of our needs, what happens is that we think our need is one thing and God knows it is really something else. For instance, if we are constantly out of money rather than needing more money we may need a better job or wisdom to handle our finances better or perhaps wisdom regarding how to get a better job. God is constantly working to strongly support those who love Him.

Read Acts chapters 16 and 17 pay particular attention to the needs Paul has and the way that God meets them for Him.

There are times when our flesh and/or the devil will lie to us and say things like, “God doesn’t really care about your little needs!” or “There are so many more important things to God than your need!” Those phrases and things like that suggest that God’s power and presence are limited. God is not limited!

Sometimes our needs are met and we don’t realize it. Begin to become more sensitive to the Lord meeting your need. Become more aware of God wanting to meet your need. Stop limiting God!

Please pray today for

- Pray for the business leaders and entrepreneurs in our region. Much of the physical prosperity in our region and be directly tied to the business leaders of our region. I know some of you have difficulty with this which means you should especially pray!
- Choose another family in our church to pray for
- Pray for the power of God to flow in our lives, in the Mon Valley, and in our church. I know I keep repeating this but I believe it is one of our greatest needs.
- Pray for Lisa Lyons, Barry, Lance, and Alex. Lisa is our Director of outreach and manager of His Place coffee, as such is over all of our outreach including VBS, Single Mom's, Christmas, His Place Coffee, to name a few. Anything that is our church reaching outside of the walls, Lisa is leading the charge. On top of all of this, she and Pastor Mike are Pastor Tim's right hands.
- Pray for that portion of the fruit of the Spirit that is “Faithfulness”
- Choose a country with a “R” name to pray for today (find out information by going to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Fasting Day 16 - January 20

God wants to break every stronghold! Nothing has any right to hold you from being all that the Lord has called you to be!

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”  Galatians 3:13,14

I have already asked you to read Acts 13 so today please read Acts chapters 14 and 15.

Three types of curses are broken in these passages one of a demonic spirit, one of death, and one of a bondage to the law.

Many have a bondage from generations, some from previous sin, others from words spoken out of turn. God has sent his Son to break them all. Some times we need to simply recognize the curse and realize that God has paid the price and wants to break in regardless of how it may have come upon us. I believe many of the curses remain in our lives because we believe for some reason we must bear them. God has not called us to bear any burdens but to cast our burdens on Him.

As you have prayed and fasting allow the Lord to show you the curses you are under and expect Him to break them. Let them go and don’t live there anymore!

Please pray today for

- Pray for our teachers. All of those who instruct our children need our prayers. Whether your children are in private, public or home-schooled (yes, it is OK to have people pray for you). College professors need our prayers as well.
- Choose another family in our church to pray for
- Pray for the power of God to flow in our lives, in the Mon Valley, and in our church. I know I keep repeating this but I believe it is one of our greatest needs.
- Pray for Pastor Tim and Paige, Amanda, Christopher Rachel, and Isaac. Yes, we do need your prayers always. I love what I do; it is many hours on the phone, answering e-mail, face to face, and in prayer for you and preparation for ministry. We are all blessed to serve but we do always need prayer.
- Pray for that portion of the fruit of the Spirit that is “Kindness”
- Choose a country with a “P” name to pray for today (find out information by going to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Fasting Day 15 - January 19

God knows what He is doing!

I know that sounds like a silly statement to make to Christians but often we think we understand God then something happens or God does something totally unexpected and we question God.

Please read Acts 11 and 12

Peter experienced and two distinct unexpected events and neither he nor the church understood them. Despite how their lack of understanding, it was God.

We always must bear in mind that God is good and that regardless of mankind’s fumbling with things, He has a plan that He will fulfill. His plans are always for our good.

Sometimes we are wounded by our disappointment with God. God has the big picture in His hands. It might not fit into our nice neat package so when it doesn’t we get disappointed with God. Disappointment is a nice word for anger. God can handle our anger. He allows us to work it through. The danger is, when rather than working it through, we permit it to fester and a wall develops between God and us. We hinder God’s plan for us and the very answer we need, by allowing a failed expectation to control us rather than the Holy Spirit.

Fasting can cause us to recognize this pain that we carry and the disappointment we hold onto and force us to deal with it. We waste so much time being angry and frustrated when instead we should be expecting answers from God! God is good. He has a plan! He knows what He is doing!

Please pray today for

- Pray for our two very powerful outreaches His Place Coffee with Lisa Lyons and all the staff and Kim Lincoln and her staff at our daycare.
- Choose another family in our church to pray for
- Pray for the power of God to flow in our lives, in the Mon Valley, and in our church. I know I keep repeating this but I believe it is one of our greatest needs.
- Pray for Pastor Mike and Beth, Frankie, Tori and Tim, Ashley, Nick, and Lindsey all the girls. Pastor Mike, as our executive, administrative pastor of the church, between He and Beth are tasked with keeping the “business” of the ministry running. Every day they are handling dozens of requests and needs, giving pastor care, and looking out for all of the staff. The make it possible for Pastor Tim to be able to focus on the needs of the overall ministry and the vision. Christian Center could not function without them.
- Pray for that portion of the fruit of the Spirit that is “Meekness”
- Choose a country with a “N” name to pray for today (find out information by going to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html