Yesterday was my first day of a full fast. Please don’t think badly of me for telling you what I’m doing. But as your leader, I think it’s important for you to know that I practice what I preach. I’m fasting coffee and sweets for the entire 40 days. I’m also fasting 3 full days a week, with nothing but water. I’m not doing this to get you to tell me what you’re doing. I made it clear…. that is between God and you!

But I wanted to talk about yesterday. I made it pretty good through the day , but when the sun went down, I GOT HUNGRY! Something about being busy through the day helped me to work through the occasional hunger pangs. I also know that I don’t watch TV during the day. Have you noticed how many commercials are about food? Great Day! I mean stuff that I don’t like looks good sometimes. Yet, I shake myself and remind myself of what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. Don’t you think the people in the Bible that fasted got hungry? Surely Daniel missed his bread. Anna missed her favorite afternoon snack. Paul probably missed his fish or favorite drink. You know they got hungry, yet the Word records them as people that fasted. They endured. They succeeded. We’ll get to eat again, drink coffee again…. yet at the moment, that doesn’t seem to matter to me. Something more important looms on the horizon. I wonder if that is what Jesus felt when He was in the desert fasting. It says that Jesus “hungered”. But what He saw on the horizon was far more important that turning rocks into bread to eat. He saw our eternal future. Somehow, I think He envisioned me praying through and receiving Him as Savior, knowing that would mean I’d get to spend eternity in heaven.

Yes, I was hungry after church last night. That’s when I normally eat supper…after church. But last night, instead of some chicken nuggets, I feasted on the manna of the Lord. I’m ready to drink of the new wine of His Spirit. I’m ready to taste the honey of His glory. Let me just challenge you to check your motives. Are you fasting to be seen? To make brownie points with someone? To keep from looking bad to someone? Why would you ask such a thing, Bro. Terry?

Zech. 7:4-6 (NCV) - Tell the priests and the people in the land: ‘For seventy years you fasted and cried in the fifth and seventh months, but that was not really for me. 6 And when you ate and drank, it was really for yourselves.

Make sure that what you do, you do for the LORD and for His glory, not for yourself. Then and only then will what we do be successful and propel us to the AFTERWARD!!!!!!!