Month: February 2014

40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #5

by Dale, posted in 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting

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Focus on God:  Speak

Do you talk to yourself?  I’m sure you do.  What you say to yourself is really important.  Why? You listen to yourself more than anyone else. Therefore, you had better speak truth to yourself.  You need to talk to your heart and remind it of God’s beauty (Day 2) that you have gazed upon (Day 3) and remembered (Day 4).  As I have heard Ken Collier at The Wilds say, “You do what you do because you think what you think, and you think what you think because of what you believe about your God.”  And may I add, what you believe comes from what you know about God, and that is in proportion to the time you spend gazing and remembering.

So, what have you been saying/speaking to yourself already this morning?  Truth or humanism?  Have you been Ken Ham or Bill Nye this morning? For today’s reading in Psalm 42, I want you to note how David talked to himself.  Use the questions below as you study this psalm and meet with your God.

If we are to be revived and changed so that we have the courage, conviction and clarity to step forward and to both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God, we must learn to speak the truth to ourselves (and to others).

Read:  Psalm 42

Answer the following:

1.  What did David say to himself?  Who was on his mind?  When and why did he talk to himself? Make sure you take note to the slight, but very important change of words between verses five and eleven.

2.  Note the honesty of David’s words, but make sure you also note the truth in response.

3.  Make sure you use your journal to record your findings.  You will want to look back over the past days when we get to Day 7.

4.  Be sure to speak the truth to someone today besides yourself.  Tell others how great is our God!

Pray: Use Psalm 42 as a prayer guide to praise God for Who He is, as a prayer guide for your fellowship with Him and as a prayer guide for your petitions.

Meditate:  Put into a sentence what God has revealed to you about Himself that you can meditate on today.

Note:  Usually, my blog is posted Monday-Friday, but for this  40 Days of Prayer and Fasting, I will be posting everyday.  So, be sure to join us tomorrow and Sunday!

40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #4

by Dale, posted in 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting

40 Days for Web

Focus on God:  Remember

Often the Children of Israel were called to remember the displays of God’s power, holiness, provision and beauty (Deuteronomy 6:20-25; 15:15; 16:3; 24:18).  They were not to forget that He had chosen them to be His special possession, His people; that He done marvelous works on their behalf. Today, as you read Psalm 103 and continue to gaze upon God and His beauty, remind yourself that He has chosen us in Christ to connect us to His beauty.  You may be Joe Smith, plant engineer, living in Jonesborough, TN, married and the father of three children, but what really identifies you is your position in Christ that connects you to the beauty of God!  Therefore, be reminded of such today and let it revive your heart as your again gaze upon your awesome God!

Read:  Psalm 103

Answer the following:

1.  As you gaze upon God in Psalm 103, record in your journal what you are to remember of His beauty and of His works toward you.

2.  As you write in your journal, be reminded that the grace of God connects you to this beauty, and it is your identification.

3.  So far this week, have you been faithful to “behold the beauty of the LORD, and inquire in His temple” (Ps.27: 4)?  What has changed in your life so far this week as you have gazed upon the beauty of God?

4.  Be sure to share with someone today what God has revealed to you about Himself.

Pray: Use Psalm 103 as a prayer guide to praise God for Who He is, as a prayer guide for your fellowship with Him and as a prayer guide for your petitions.

Meditate:  Put into a sentence what God has revealed to you about Himself that you can meditate on today.

40 Days of Prayer & Fasting For Revival: Day #3

by Dale, posted in 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting

40 Days for Web

Focus on God:  Gaze Upon Him

Yesterday morning, the sunrise as seen from our upstairs front window was spectacular!  I immediately retrieved my camera and starting taking shots of God’s handiwork.  I did not want to waste any time because the awesome scene in front of me was changing moment-by-moment. Later on, the thought came to my mind, “That’s how I should be when I behold the beauty of God.  Although He is immutable, His beauty, His ways, and His words should leave us awe-struck with wonder longing for the next glimpse of His glory. What an awesome God Who reveals Himself to us day-by-day (Psalm 19:1-6).

That’s the challenge today.  Read Isaiah 40 and gaze upon the Lord as though you were watching the sunrise in these beautiful mountains and countryside of East Tennessee!

Our goal, our heartbeat, our motivation, our joy for these 40 days is that God would so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God!

Read:  Isaiah 40

Answer the following:

1.  Record in your journal the snapshots of God that you have gazed upon in Isaiah 40.

2.  Just as we do on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, share your “snapshots” with someone today. Perhaps it will be one who does not care about our God.

Pray: Use Isaiah 40 as a prayer guide to praise God for Who He is, as a prayer guide for your fellowship with Him and as a prayer guide for your petitions.

Meditate:  Put into a sentence what God has revealed to you about Himself that you can meditate on today.

40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #2

by Dale, posted in 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting

40 Days for Web

Day #2: Focus on God – Behold His Beauty

Did you see the beauty of God’s power yesterday as you meditated on Psalm 29?  What display of His power in Psalm 29 stirred your heart?  Were you left in awe of Him? If we are to have revival today and in days to come, we must have a fresh view of the beauty of God! 

Yesterday while listening to the preaching of Paul David Tripp, God convicted me deeply of letting my hard heart, ministry and people dim my awe of God.  Folks, may I simply encourage you today to read Psalm 27 and do what David did (27:4)?  Consider this.  When David was faced with the awful actions of his wicked enemies (27:2), what was his response?  Where did he want to go?  What did he seek more than anything else?  That’s the point of this whole challenge for Day 2.

Read:  Psalm 27

Answer the following:

1  Record in your journal the beauty of God of seen today as you have read and meditated on Him.

2.  Has your view of God become dim? If so, what’s the cause?

3.  What do you need to confess and repent of to God as a result of not seeing Him in His beauty?

4.  Who will you tell today about the beauty of God?

Pray: Use Psalm 27 as a prayer guide to praise God for Who He is, as a prayer guide for your fellowship with Him and as a prayer guide for your petitions.

Meditate:  Put into a sentence what God has revealed to you about Himself that you can meditate on today.

40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #1

by Dale, posted in 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting

40 Days for Web

Taking our cue from Nehemiah 1:4, And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, we begin today our 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting at BCBC.  As I shared in the introduction of yesterday’s message from Nehemiah, “Nehemiah is the story of God reviving and changing his people so that they have the courage, conviction and clarity to step forward to both pray and act as the people of God for the glory God.”  May this be our goal, our heartbeat, our motivation, our joy—that God would so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God!

As we take this 40 day journey (Feb. 3 – March 14), may I ask that you participate in the following way?

1.            “Sit down” (Nehemiah 1:4 and yesterday’s sermon).  Every day have a regular place where you get alone with God in personal worship.  Do not set a time limit; just make sure that you have really met with God.  This is where fasting comes into play.  What is distracting you from really meeting with God?  What good work/thing do you need to set aside for the greater meeting (i.e. Mary & Martha, Luke 10:38-42)?

2.            Keep a spiritual journal.  Write down every day what God has said to you from His Word, the scripture reference that you read and/or prayed through, and what you learned about God and yourself.  Be honest and transparent. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a long recording, but enough that you can be reminded of your meeting with God on that day.

3.            See this as a delight and not something you check off each day or as a daily duty. Sing, worship, listen to God, talk to God, sit at His table and feast from His Manna.  Perhaps you will see prayer become more a blessed time of fellowship than only petitions.

Each day, I’ll be sharing a passage of Scripture to read and pray as well as some directives toward our goal (see above, 1st paragraph).

Day 1:  Focus on God

This is where Nehemiah began. This is where we will begin today.

Read:  Psalm 29 – God’s power

Answer the following:

1.  Do I sometimes forget how powerful and awesome God is?

2.  Do I tend to put myself at the center of the Bible instead of recognizing God’s supremacy?

3.  Do I daily meditate on God as the omnipotent One Who is my glory and strength?

4.  Do I seek to glorify Him in all areas of my life?

Pray: Use Psalm 29 as a prayer guide to praise God for His power, as a prayer guide for your fellowship with Him and as a prayer guide for your petitions.

Meditate:  Put into a sentence what God has revealed to you about Himself, that you can meditate on today.