Day 18: WONDERS— Are You up to Accept the Grace of God
'It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.'—Daniel 4:2 (ESV)
'the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me' — WONDERS: Photo by Genessa Panainte on Unsplash
Blog #020
Congratulations
Day 18. Today sees the conclusion of our Season of Fasting for 2018. How was it for you?
Some may have fasted for the full eighteen days, others for only one.
Honestly, God won’t love you any more if you fasted the full eighteen days … and He won’t love you less because you didn’t.
The wonderful thing about our heavenly Father is that he loves all of us unconditionally.
Reflection
Lets take a few moments to look back and consider the reason for fasting, and the impact it’s had on your life over the past eighteen days.
The prime motivation for participating in the 2018 Fasting Season was to declare, as a fellowship, our desperate need for God’s Spirit to move in a new and powerful way, in our families, church community, city and further afield.
It was hoped that over the 18 day period at least 50% of the church would participate in the fast for at least one day.
Whether that goal was achieved or fell short, I don’t know.
What I do know is that because you are reading this devotional, you have taken part. Thank you for participating.
We want more!
This year our focus was declaring to God that we are unsatisfied with the Status Quo, (not the rock and roll band), but rather we are dissatisfied with our current level of discipleship … we want more.
We’re like:
Moses—‘Now show me Your Glory’ (Exodus 33:18, NIV),
Paul—‘That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection’ (Phil 3:10, ESV),
David—‘to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.’ (Psalm 27:4, NIV).
I’ve only mentioned three heroes of the faith, you can probably think more.
What about you?
Our focus, today, is on Daniel;
‘It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.’—(Daniel 4:2, ESV)
Daniel was happy to share his story of his relationship with God. Today we have the same opportunity.
At the end of this devotion there is a space for comments. I’d encourage everyone who has read the devotional series to take a minute or two and leave a comment of encouragement, for the writers and for other readers.
Something to get you started;
What has God spoken into your life over the past 18 days?
What of significance has happened in your life over the past 18 days?
What have you learned?
Have you taken steps to;
focus on God and adore him. (Day 1)
develop a relationship with God. (Day 2)
focus on who God is. (Day 3)
change you perspective of worship. (Day 4)
find God as a daily refuge. (Day 5)
worship God through sacrifice. (Day 6)
have a reality-check. (Day 7)
live a life or reverence. (Day 8)
ask God for wisdom. (Day 9)
listen to the scriptures. (Day 10)
over-come your F.O.M.O. (Day 11)
be a person of influence? (Day 12)
live with Great Expectations. (Day 13)
exhaust your superlatives. (Day 14)
let-go and let-God. (Day 15)
believe Him (Day 16)
accept Signs and Wonders (Day 17)
reflect on the grace of God (Day 18)
God is in the business of change
This year we’ve done things differently, we’ve produced our devotionals online. Instead of relying on email attachments, we’ve been publishing the daily devotionals on the Narre Warren Baptist Church Blog. https://www.nwbc.net.au/blog
Thank You
I want to say a huge thank you to those who have written the devotionals for this year’s Season of Fasting.
The depth of insight that each writer has shared has been thought provoking and inspirational. God has used each of our writers to reach untold people, not only in our local fellowship, but further afield.
I suppose the proof of these efforts may not be fully understood until we see Jesus face to face—and that’s OK with me.
Learn from the Past—Strive for the future
Let us leave the past behind and look to the future.
God has greater goals for us to aim at … if we only take Him at His word.
[Tweet this]
“leave the past behind … God has greater goals for us to aim at … if we take Him at His word.” http://bit.ly/2GnJtiU
In the words of Paul ‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 3:14, NIV)
Where to from here?
A conversation has been started on social media—Blog, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Linkedin and Twitter).
People have also spoken face to face, written emails and generally interacted.
The last 18 days has seen a powerful start to something that must continue, if we are to break through barriers and intentionally build community.
Let us …
not be content to keep things as they are. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, let's live authentic lives that honour Christ in every way.
take the challenge beyond the eighteen-day mark and aim further.
be intentional about adoring God for who He is.
live wisely in every aspect of our lives with insider and outsiders.
expect God to move supernaturally in our church family, our city and beyond.
Today's challenge
Choose two areas where God has challenged you, over the past 18 days and begin to deliberately rebuild your relationship with God. No procrastination!
Join in the conversation
Sure, it's the last day of the Season of Fasting. If you haven't already left a comment, do so now.
Share the love around on your favourite social media site, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Pinterest.
