Daniel Fast Day 14
FRUITFULNESS
Singing a New Tune
The beauty of Christ Jesus is on full display in the Gospels. He starts off by saving a wedding host from embarrassment. He heals the sick and He raises the dead. He gives widows back their dead sons. He touches lepers and opens up blind eyes. He doesn’t pick up a stone and condemn a woman who was caught in adultery, instead, He forgives her. Those vexed by evil, He delivers. Those needing a meal, He feeds. Those who worked hard with no results, He gives them a miraculous catch.
He values the outcast; he defends those bad Samaritans. He gives value to women, such as they have never been given by anyone. He lets them sit at His feet, not in humiliation but in a learning posture. He sets time aside to talk to them regardless of how it looks. He welcomes children with open arms. He has dinner with sinners, and He forgives freely. He loves deeply. He’s a friend to the friendless and a refuge to the broken. He is moved with compassion and responds with mercy. Then above all, He lays down His life so that we may live with Him for all eternity. The greatest act of sacrificial love. Jesus is beautiful!
He is amazing beyond description and beyond comparison. Words fail to describe the indescribable. Imaginations lack the capacity to imagine the unimaginable. Christ is Supreme! Paul writes in Colossians 1:18-20(MSG) “He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.”
This amazing God comes and makes His home in us. He enables us to do His will and equips us to effectively be His representatives on earth. Fruitful living makes us attractive; we are never more attractive than when we look like our Creator. Here we are fully dressed in our beautiful clothes, custom-made for us by our Heavenly Father so that we may reflect the Son, King Jesus. We are discarding the old corrupt nature and putting on the new, which is compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, and taking second place if necessary. What beautiful clothes. We are covered by His love. Above anything and everything else we have put on love. We have placed on our feet the shoes of the Good News of peace, and are becoming peacemakers. Paul continues in Colossians 3:16-17(NLT) “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”
Allow His message, the message of Jesus Christ, to fill you. Let His Word dwell in you richly. This glorious Savior who has rescued you from the tyranny of the kingdom of darkness and placed you in the kingdom of light, wants you to be filled with His Word. Not only did we get new clothes, we received a brand new way of communicating. He clothes us but He also fills us, if we let Him. We have changed hearts and changed habits but we also receive changed mouths. Our mouths are simply vehicles of expression for our hearts. What’s in our hearts? That’s actually not too difficult to figure out, it's whatever comes out of our mouths. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak.” Your mouth betrays your heart. You might try to keep a lid on it, but sooner or later that little member with a whole lot of clout (the tongue) gets activated. Especially when we face adversity and pressure. The squeeze of life always results in a revelation of the heart made audible through our own mouths.
That’s why we are encouraged to allow the Word of Christ to fill us. This is a crucial part of our spiritual development and fruitfulness; it is part of the process we grow through. As we allow God’s Word to fill us, we are being equipped to become an encouragement to others. “Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.” When our hearts are filled with His Word, we can encourage one another, instead of cursing one another, because we are receiving His wisdom. Jesus is our wisdom, meaning if we want to know how we should live, we look to Him. When we look to Him, we see that He is simply irresistible. 1 Corinthians 1:30(EHV) “But because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom from God, namely, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
He has become the clothes we wear and the wisdom we walk in. He is our example and pattern after which we fashion our lives. His life is our blueprint for building a life that pleases the Father, honors Christ Jesus, draws from the Holy Spirit, and speaks life to those around us. We sing a brand new song and we sing a new tune! Where there is righteousness, there is peace. Where there is peace, there are thankful hearts. Where there are thankful hearts, there is joy in abundance. Happy people sing. They sing not because they have great voices, they sing because it is an expression of joy and gratitude.
We not only look good, we sound good because our language has changed. Our language has changed from complaining and arguing to thanksgiving and praise. People under the influence, regardless if they are reserved or not, will become boisterous and loud. They will throw overboard their inhibitions because whatever they are full of is having its effect. Quiet people will get chatty. They will talk to anybody whether it’s a stranger or not. Strangers become friends and friends become a chorus. They start singing and cheering with no filter, just completely full of something that surpasses their usual reserved demeanor or behavior. However, once the effects of whatever they have wear off, regret, shame, embarrassment, and even misery are the result.
Imagine that we get so filled with God’s Word that there is no place for anything but Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and gratitude. Imagine our language being redeemed because we are under the complete influence of the Word of Christ. No course jesting, foolish rhetoric, snide remarks, sarcastic jabs, pithy comebacks, insulting comments, rude responses, welted put-downs, angry gossip, or vile slander. What if no evil communication came from our mouths except that which is beneficial to the hearer and honorable to the Master. Our communication must reveal to others that we are completely under the influence of the Spirit. That everything we do and say shows that we represent Christ and Christ alone and that thanks is the language we speak and the songs we sing.
Your wardrobe is exquisite. Your all-purpose garment is impeccable, your shoes are striking, and your language is melodious. How beautiful you are! You look just like your Father and the resemblance to your oldest Brother is uncanny…that’s the music I want to make, that’s the tune I want to sing, how about you? Will you let the message of Christ fill you so you can sing a new tune? I promise you won’t regret it!
Isaiah 35:8-10(TLB) “And a main road will go through that once-deserted land; it will be named “The Holy Highway.” No evil-hearted men may walk upon it. God will walk there with you; even the most stupid cannot miss the way. No lion will lurk along its course, nor will there be any other dangers; only the redeemed will travel there. These, the ransomed of the Lord, will go home along that road to Zion, singing the songs of everlasting joy. For them all sorrow and all sighing will be gone forever; only joy and gladness will be there.”
Prayer and Reflection:
Father, thank You for the greatest gift, the gift of Christ Jesus. Thank You that Christ in us is our hope of glory. Thank You that Jesus is the very wisdom we need to live lives that please You. May we be filled to overflow with Your Word. Help us to make Your Word not just a priority, but a daily necessity. As we look into Your Word, show us what needs to be changed and help us to have a willingness to change. Help us to encourage one another, teach one another, and counsel one another with Your wisdom, not our own man-made philosophies.
Above all, fill us with gratitude and help us to sing songs of praise, songs of thanks, and songs inspired by the Holy Spirit. May we all represent You well and when others hear the language we speak, may it be the language of thanksgiving. Season our words with salt, flavor them with kindness and grace. Let those that hear us, hear You, and let it be a song that brings You honor. Jesus, You are beautiful, and I want to be just like You. Mold me and make me, I pray. You are the Potter and I am the clay. Form me as You see fit and let me be a vessel of honor. I ask that You save the lost, heal the broken, bring back the Prodigal, and empower Your saints! In Jesus Name, Amen.
Singing a New Tune
The beauty of Christ Jesus is on full display in the Gospels. He starts off by saving a wedding host from embarrassment. He heals the sick and He raises the dead. He gives widows back their dead sons. He touches lepers and opens up blind eyes. He doesn’t pick up a stone and condemn a woman who was caught in adultery, instead, He forgives her. Those vexed by evil, He delivers. Those needing a meal, He feeds. Those who worked hard with no results, He gives them a miraculous catch.
He values the outcast; he defends those bad Samaritans. He gives value to women, such as they have never been given by anyone. He lets them sit at His feet, not in humiliation but in a learning posture. He sets time aside to talk to them regardless of how it looks. He welcomes children with open arms. He has dinner with sinners, and He forgives freely. He loves deeply. He’s a friend to the friendless and a refuge to the broken. He is moved with compassion and responds with mercy. Then above all, He lays down His life so that we may live with Him for all eternity. The greatest act of sacrificial love. Jesus is beautiful!
He is amazing beyond description and beyond comparison. Words fail to describe the indescribable. Imaginations lack the capacity to imagine the unimaginable. Christ is Supreme! Paul writes in Colossians 1:18-20(MSG) “He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.”
This amazing God comes and makes His home in us. He enables us to do His will and equips us to effectively be His representatives on earth. Fruitful living makes us attractive; we are never more attractive than when we look like our Creator. Here we are fully dressed in our beautiful clothes, custom-made for us by our Heavenly Father so that we may reflect the Son, King Jesus. We are discarding the old corrupt nature and putting on the new, which is compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, and taking second place if necessary. What beautiful clothes. We are covered by His love. Above anything and everything else we have put on love. We have placed on our feet the shoes of the Good News of peace, and are becoming peacemakers. Paul continues in Colossians 3:16-17(NLT) “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”
Allow His message, the message of Jesus Christ, to fill you. Let His Word dwell in you richly. This glorious Savior who has rescued you from the tyranny of the kingdom of darkness and placed you in the kingdom of light, wants you to be filled with His Word. Not only did we get new clothes, we received a brand new way of communicating. He clothes us but He also fills us, if we let Him. We have changed hearts and changed habits but we also receive changed mouths. Our mouths are simply vehicles of expression for our hearts. What’s in our hearts? That’s actually not too difficult to figure out, it's whatever comes out of our mouths. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak.” Your mouth betrays your heart. You might try to keep a lid on it, but sooner or later that little member with a whole lot of clout (the tongue) gets activated. Especially when we face adversity and pressure. The squeeze of life always results in a revelation of the heart made audible through our own mouths.
That’s why we are encouraged to allow the Word of Christ to fill us. This is a crucial part of our spiritual development and fruitfulness; it is part of the process we grow through. As we allow God’s Word to fill us, we are being equipped to become an encouragement to others. “Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.” When our hearts are filled with His Word, we can encourage one another, instead of cursing one another, because we are receiving His wisdom. Jesus is our wisdom, meaning if we want to know how we should live, we look to Him. When we look to Him, we see that He is simply irresistible. 1 Corinthians 1:30(EHV) “But because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom from God, namely, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
He has become the clothes we wear and the wisdom we walk in. He is our example and pattern after which we fashion our lives. His life is our blueprint for building a life that pleases the Father, honors Christ Jesus, draws from the Holy Spirit, and speaks life to those around us. We sing a brand new song and we sing a new tune! Where there is righteousness, there is peace. Where there is peace, there are thankful hearts. Where there are thankful hearts, there is joy in abundance. Happy people sing. They sing not because they have great voices, they sing because it is an expression of joy and gratitude.
We not only look good, we sound good because our language has changed. Our language has changed from complaining and arguing to thanksgiving and praise. People under the influence, regardless if they are reserved or not, will become boisterous and loud. They will throw overboard their inhibitions because whatever they are full of is having its effect. Quiet people will get chatty. They will talk to anybody whether it’s a stranger or not. Strangers become friends and friends become a chorus. They start singing and cheering with no filter, just completely full of something that surpasses their usual reserved demeanor or behavior. However, once the effects of whatever they have wear off, regret, shame, embarrassment, and even misery are the result.
Imagine that we get so filled with God’s Word that there is no place for anything but Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and gratitude. Imagine our language being redeemed because we are under the complete influence of the Word of Christ. No course jesting, foolish rhetoric, snide remarks, sarcastic jabs, pithy comebacks, insulting comments, rude responses, welted put-downs, angry gossip, or vile slander. What if no evil communication came from our mouths except that which is beneficial to the hearer and honorable to the Master. Our communication must reveal to others that we are completely under the influence of the Spirit. That everything we do and say shows that we represent Christ and Christ alone and that thanks is the language we speak and the songs we sing.
Your wardrobe is exquisite. Your all-purpose garment is impeccable, your shoes are striking, and your language is melodious. How beautiful you are! You look just like your Father and the resemblance to your oldest Brother is uncanny…that’s the music I want to make, that’s the tune I want to sing, how about you? Will you let the message of Christ fill you so you can sing a new tune? I promise you won’t regret it!
Isaiah 35:8-10(TLB) “And a main road will go through that once-deserted land; it will be named “The Holy Highway.” No evil-hearted men may walk upon it. God will walk there with you; even the most stupid cannot miss the way. No lion will lurk along its course, nor will there be any other dangers; only the redeemed will travel there. These, the ransomed of the Lord, will go home along that road to Zion, singing the songs of everlasting joy. For them all sorrow and all sighing will be gone forever; only joy and gladness will be there.”
Prayer and Reflection:
- If people were to constantly listen to you, what would they say you are full of? What do you talk about all the time?
- If your mouth is a reflection of what is going on in your heart, how is your heart? Does your language change when you are under pressure? If so, why?
- What can you do from a practical standpoint to get filled with the Word? How can you help others to do the same?
- Jesus is our pattern for all of life. When others look at you, how much of Jesus would they recognize in your behavior? How much of Jesus would they recognize in your language?
- Will Jesus talk to people the way you do?
- If you were the only representative of Christ on this earth, how clearly would people be able to understand God’s character, nature, and love for them?
Father, thank You for the greatest gift, the gift of Christ Jesus. Thank You that Christ in us is our hope of glory. Thank You that Jesus is the very wisdom we need to live lives that please You. May we be filled to overflow with Your Word. Help us to make Your Word not just a priority, but a daily necessity. As we look into Your Word, show us what needs to be changed and help us to have a willingness to change. Help us to encourage one another, teach one another, and counsel one another with Your wisdom, not our own man-made philosophies.
Above all, fill us with gratitude and help us to sing songs of praise, songs of thanks, and songs inspired by the Holy Spirit. May we all represent You well and when others hear the language we speak, may it be the language of thanksgiving. Season our words with salt, flavor them with kindness and grace. Let those that hear us, hear You, and let it be a song that brings You honor. Jesus, You are beautiful, and I want to be just like You. Mold me and make me, I pray. You are the Potter and I am the clay. Form me as You see fit and let me be a vessel of honor. I ask that You save the lost, heal the broken, bring back the Prodigal, and empower Your saints! In Jesus Name, Amen.
Posted in Daniel Fast 2024