Sunday 30 September 2012

Isaiah 52:1 « Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. »

Congratulations!  You made it to the end.  This is a day of feasting and a day of celebration!  We want to strongly encourage you to find others of like heart and mind and celebrate the presence of the Lord together.  The table of the Lord should have extra special meaning to you today.

Now that you have come to the end of the fast, you may be asking yourself, “Ok.  What next?”  Please don’t just dream of the next cheeseburger!  Rather, go ahead and mark in your calendar the dates for the next Fast.

The proposed dates for the next Daniel Fast are September 8-29, 2013.  We are also considering a similar time of fasting the 21 days prior to Passover as well.  We’ll try to inform you as we make our decision. (If you sign up to follow this blog then you will receive any announcements on special days of prayer and fasting for the next year.)

Isaiah is perhaps the greatest Messianic prophet in the Old Testament.  Here in chapter 52 he sees the time when God “awakens” His holy city and clothes it with strength.  I believe this speaks prophetically of what God is doing with His church today.

The Spirit of the Lord is awakening the church around the world and clothing her with moral strength.  True authentic worship is her garment, and it has been washed in the blood of Jesus.  She is being restored to her purity; and has become, once again, a place for those who walk in covenant with God and have not soiled themselves by a friend of the world.

The presence of a holy God flows freely through her gates; genuine sacrificial love for one another shines brightly in the darkness of a self-obssessed world.  The inhabitants of the Holy City give of themselves freely to see those languishing in sin snatched away from the jaws of death.

The people of God flurish in the light of covenantal relationships and they rebuild the ancient foundations of generations past; they are the restorers of the broken walls of the city; they establish new streets for people to dwell in security and peace.

You have done well, my friend, to go this far in the Daniel Fast.  Now, a new year awaits you, filled with blessings and challenges.  Embrace God’s grace and destiny in your life; God is on the move.

Be a part of God’s people today.  Don’t just be “awake” by yourself.  God wants to make you a member of His people to whom He has given a specific mission.  He has awakened you; now take your place with the rest of His “awakened” ones, and be a part of this great end-time move of His Spirit.