My life is not really a connection of many different facets.  It is not compartmentalized by what I do , who I am related to or what things I own.  My life really comes down to what my heart is connected to and whether or not my heart is functioning as it should.  In the natural a person with a heart condition is always on the verge of facing some major problems.  The same is true spiritual a person with a spiritual heart issue is always on the verge of spiritual heart failure and sickness.  In the natural if a persons heart is not beating with a proper cadence doctor's can put a pace maker implanted in that person in order to have them develop a regular and healthy heart beat.  The same can also be said of the spiritual realm.  God longs for each of us to have a regular heartbeat that is not encumbered by other things that stop us from functioning with the kind of heart action the Lord longs for us to have. 

Finally the Lord longs to clear out any blockages that can quickly form in our hearts that will inhibited His holy flow in us and have the potential to cause catastrophic loss.  Our walk with God is easy to know how to live but is often so difficult to live it out with a heart that is not functioning as it was made to. So like the doctors would say about the physical heart. Eat healthy, exercise and don't do things that would clog the plumbing.  Spiritually speaking Eat healthy on God's word, exercise an attitude of grace and love, and whatever you must do, keep any spiritual blockages from forming so that the Lord can flow in you. There is nothing worse than spiritual heart failure.  Let's keep our heart right for the one we love the most,  Jesus!

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I wanted to share an experience with you that remind me that God is always working in and through us.  Several years ago I met a store owner.  Although not a believer, he is a great guy and is one of those individuals who you instantly have a level of confidence that he knows what he's doing and also you can take his word to the bank. Every time I would see him overthe years we would end up talking about things other than the items in the store.  I would often invite him to church even though I knew it was a long shot.  Over the years I have seen him maybe 10 times.  But I have to remember that the Word of God says that one person plants another waters but God gives the increase.  Over those 10 times we began to develop somewhat of a friendship.  To make a long story short after several years and not really seeing any response, God did some neat miracles and the Holy Spirit was faithful as always to allow our paths to cross again.  It is always important to remember that God is working even when we do not see.  This past week I had the honor of introducing he and his wife to the Lord.  It was fabulous and an incredible encouragement to me and a great joy just to see how the Lord works in ways that often times we do not see. I'm not sure who was happier them or me.   I wanted to encourage all of those who are reading this not to minimize the opportunities that the Holy Spirit offers us. Now I will be the first to tell you that there are many times that I wonder whether or not my life or my words are making an impact.  We must remember that it is not us and it is not our ability that makes the difference, but our availability.  God chooses to use us sometimes even in spite of our selves.   All we have to do be willing to share our love for God and for people. Now I am praying that God would grow this couple, but also that God would allow many of us to have the honor to leading people to the King not only when we feel especially spiritual or we feel convicted to share our love for God.  He wants to use us as His servants at all times in all ways.  All we need to be is available and God will do the rest.

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There is power in confession James 5:16

16 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.

The Message

 The Lord wantsus to be whole both spiritually, physically and emotionally and part of that process for complete healing.  How many people do you and I know that have allowed un-confessed sin and un-confessed.  This confession is so powerful for our lives, and in turn the lives of those that we are impacting on a regular basis. It will free us from our past and push us forward into the future.  But notice also that when confession takes place there is an additional advantage, and that is when we confess to the Lord we put ourselves in right relationship with our Master who in turn will allow us to be part of the solution in prayer. It is as the message says "something powerful to be reckoned with"   I want to encourage each one of you to live a life of confession and freedom from the past, asking God to allow our prayer lives to reach new heights of power as we come and stand rightly before the Lord.  Will you pray with me that God would move in and through us as we live a life of confession and wholeness.

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I am sorry that I have not been able to keep up with writing the past week. As many of you know last week was a difficult one and we were away in Ohio at the funeral of my sister-in-law,  Mardy.  I know that many of you have been praying for Dee and I and the entire family. I know that it is with the prayers that were offered that God gave great grace and help. One thingI also found out that I had never known about the time of fasting and prayer, was just how much it allows you to focus.  We didn't want to leave the fast for the reason that we felt we needed to be more focused and more open to meeting the needs of the family members and for working through all the dynamics of this tragedy.  God does come and sustain and help us when we focus in on Him and away from the things that often time cause us pain. He is a faithful Lord who hears the prayers of His people and knows what we need in the way of strength even before we ask Him.  Yet this time of turning aside and depending on God, of drawing closer and know Him more continues to be a source of incredible supply.  The Word of God says, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.  That is exactly what you and I are doing we are acknowledging the fact that God knows, helps, delivers, sustains, directs, provides, encourages, ministers all those who depend on Him.

     Now in this final week of the fast, let's push in.  I am going to ask each of you to continue to do what God has told you to.  If you are just joining the fast or if you have been fasting all along, now is a good time to allow the Lord to press us even closer to His heart.  I believe that God is speaking and He is moving in the lives and hearts of many people as you and I are drawing closer to Him.  What if He has even more that He wants to accomplish in the days to come that will only happen as we fast and pray.  There are things that are being purchased in the realm of the Spirit that will be seen in days to come as we put seek the face of our Lord and Master.  Thank you so much for all your prayers on our behalf, and thank you for your prayers and behalf of others.  Would you now join me in a fresh devotion to the Lord and ask Him to have full sway in our lives. I will do my best to get back to writing daily and hope you will grow along with us.  May God give you the best week of this New Year.   May we always be Together for Jesus

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22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful to see.
24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:22-24

NLT

On a personal Note:  I would like to thank all those who are praying for us as Dee and the family we  walk through this week of grieving the loss of my wife's only sister.  We are praying that the Lord will give us grace and that He will use this time of  even of sorrow to bring friends and family members back to Jesus.

Today our scripture for the fast is found in the book of psalms talking about our Lord that was rejected by men but chosen by God. Even today many people are rejecting the grace that God offers and yet He will not stop doing everything He can to bring them to a knowledge  of the truth. Yet the psalmist goes on to say that this thing of Jesus becoming our cornerstone is a wonderful thing and it is marvelous in our eyes.  It is a wonderful thing to see the hand of God moving in our behalf even in spite of people God is still God and is still faithful to move and to transcend all the barriers that people try to put up against the truth.  His grace is wonderful, His power is wonderful, His mercies are wonderful.. 

That is why verse 24 proclaims that this is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.  We are to rejoice even on days that are difficult like these we are going through because we are rejoicing in Him.  His mercy that says that He transcends even moments of great grief because our hope remains in the cornerstone, Jesus.  We are praying for all of you as you are walking through this fast. Now on day 9^th day this drawing near, rejoice in His promise, rejoice that He is faithful and rejoice that this is the day, of God's favor and we are so thankful and choose to live our life in Joy.

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John 15:11

^ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

As we look forward to week two of our time of prayer and fasting we turn to the place of looking at one of the often overlooked disciplines that is to be a part of our life.  Joy is somethingthat should come along with the Christian life, and yet joy is something at times we are not very good at.

Notice that Jesus encouraged the disciples in chapter 15 to obey His commands and love one another so that the Joy of Jesus would be completely and totally full in them. There is a clear correlation between our obedience and our joy. As we fill our lives with the presence and the purposes of the Lord, there is a clear dying to ourselves and a clear giving away of the things that so easily entangle us. Obedience to the Lord's commands means falling deeper in love with the Lord and leaving the life that allows sins to be our desire. Today as we start this second week of the fast we do so with a fresh understanding and confidence of the Joy that the Lord has for us.  Like I have said before the Joy that Jesus gives is not conditional, but is constant.  Jesus knows all about or lives, He understands what things we are going through and He is still the one who brings Joy into every day.  I will be praying with you this week that the Lord Himself will give you a spirit of Joy as you walk towards the Master. This truth is especially important as we allow the Lord to help us through difficult times. "The joy of the Lord is our strength" Nehemiah 8:10

On a Personal Note: Please pray for my wife Dee and her family. This afternoon we received a phone call that Dee's sister Mardy had died from a blood clot.  We covet your prayers in the upcoming week and beyond

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Let us take an assessment so far of the fist six days of this time of prayer and fasting.  We can do so by asking ourselves some questions that will refocus us during this time.

•1.    Am I setting aside a sufficient amount of time to meet with God? We do not want to waste these days so if you are findingyour life still hurried, slow it down and set time apart with God.  He is really thrilled that you are turning to Him during these days and is believing for some greater things in the two weeks that remain>

•2.    What is the Lord already saying to me?  It might be very good for you to sit down and write out at this point the things that HE is already speaking and to rejoice in that

•3.    Am I finding my heart is open to respond when He speaks?  It is one thing to hear but is certainly another thing to respond. James writes that we should be doers of the word and not just hearers.

•4.    Am I finding myself irritable or is the Holy Spirit allowing me to keep any attitudes or irritations under His care?  It is often possible that even in the midst of fasting and prayer that we allow self to creep in.  If we can encourage you to allow Him to take that away.  A big part of the spiritual discipline of fasting is simply to humble yourself before God.

•5.    How is this time of drawing near to God affecting others around me?  Sometimes people will not understand but often times they will be able to see a marked difference in you that really is a glory to God and a way that people can see Christ in and through you.

•6.    Am I embracing this time of prayer and fasting with Joy?  This is a very important question.  Remember that we are not doing this to get points or to gain some level of piety we are doing this to grow deeper with God and in turn gain a level of growth with the Lord that will transcend these 21 days of concentrated effort.  Remember "The Joy of the Lord is our Strength

As you take time to look over these questions and to answer them.  I am sure that God will speak new and even greater things into your life.  May the Lord allow us to even focus more on Him and His voice during the next two weeks of the fast.  The Lord is encouraged by every step we take towards Him.

24 You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win.
25 All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.
26 I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me!
27 I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

The Message

I Corinthians 9:24-27

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Really as the Master said these two commandments sum up all of the Law and also give us the boundaries for our life.  Usually about five or six days into any time of fasting and prayer, your body begins to go through certain changes. Your routine has changed and if you are fasting food or adjusting what you are taking in your body may not be used to it.  Certain things that we take for granted like chewing seem to suddenly come to the forefront.  Your body has been very used to living with sugars and sweets and does not easily adjust to going without. But that really is part of the beauty of a time of spiritual fasting and prayer. It is a constant reminder as to what the goal of the fast is.  Not to see if we can do it, but to take steps even difficult steps at times to knowing and loving God more and more. If Jesus said that it is the greatest commandment than we are to fully love him without any hesitation and holding nothing back.  When you are in love with someone, you just want to spend time with them, you have no desire to be anywhere else doing anything else, and it is almost like you are living for love.  That really is what Jesus is saying, Love God because He is your life, Love God because He is what will sustain you more than food more than fortune more than passing fame. As we are setting aside time to meet with the God who loves and is in fact Love, we can enter into a deeper love relationship with the Lord and by doing so actually please Him. With all my heart, soul, and mind, from the very depths of who we are we say to the living God have you way in me, we say I love you.  All the these that God wants us to do can be summed up in four words.  Love God, Love People.   If we love the Lord with all of our heart and minds and life there is no doubt that we will love others who are also loved by God.  So on this fifth day of the fasting remember that when we are seeking the face of God and surrendering other things that at times can get in the way. Please don't forget to do it for Love.

On a Personal Note:  I wanted to thank you for your prayers yesterday for my sister in law Mardy Regal.  Things did not go as we had hoped.  The Doctors tell us that the cancer has spread to other parts of her abdomen and the prognosis is not a good one.  We are trusting God for the days ahead.  Please pray for Mardy and her family for great comfort and peace that Jesus brings even in the midst of suffering. And that God will be the source on which they all lean.  Also please pray for my wife Dee as she of course is grieving and hurting over the news and praying about others who will be greatly affected.  We appreciate your prayers during this time.  There are things we will not understand until we see Jesus, and this will be one of them. However we are asking the Lord to give us the daily provision for each day.  Thanks again for your prayers.

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"Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -His good, pleasing and perfect will. "

So begins the 12 chapter of the book of Romans.  Paul is making an appeal to each of us that we are to give ourselves completely to God, as an expression of worship. This does not merely mean when things are easy or when we are expected to be religious due to some predetermined time or expression, but we are to be a living gift to God on a continual basis.   Notice that these two verse our really our step towards God, we are the one who is to offer ourselves, we are the one who is to stop conforming to the world's pattern, we are the one who have to offer from a willing heart our everything.  There are many things that we depend on God to do, we expect Him to lead us and He will as long as we give over the control of our life to Him. 

I am praying with you that the Lord who is more than able to show us His will for our lives, will do that in new and greater ways during this time of prayer and fasting.  Already we are seeing in the lives of many people a willingness to surrender and to give up  our selves so that God may take over more and more of us.  We are thrilled to see people taking new steps towards the Lord.  Let us all make it an act of worship, a praise to the Lord, not to ourselves.

Usually about 4 or five days into a time of corporate fasting one will begin to feel tired as their body adjust to a new way of doing things. No matter what you have decided to surrender to God, I am asking you to look up again and see His hand leading and directing so that we can keep our eyes on the Goal which is, Jesus First, Jesus Last, Jesus all the time.  You are doing great keep going after God.

On a personal note: I would like to ask you to pray today for my sister-in-law, Mardy Regal.  She is going in for major surgery today to deal with stomach cancer that was detected prior to Christmas.  The Doctors have all seen a problem with a heart issue as well that will have to be dealt with in the future .  Please pray with us for God's strength and favor. We are praying that the Doctors will find a far better scenario today than they expect.  We know God is able and Dee and I appreciate so much you praying with us.  Thank you for your prayers. We are Believing and Trusting God.

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