Subject: Devotional -The Greatest Benefit of Fasting – Ken Barnes

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Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 ESV

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... in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them... 2 Cor 5:19

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Today's Devotional

The Greatest Benefit of Fasting – Ken Barnes

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' (Matthew 4:4 NIV)


Life has a way of detouring us on our spiritual journey. Fasting is a reset of our spiritual priorities.

My church often has some form of fasting at the start of a new year. This year, we are doing a Lenten fast. I find it reorients my spiritual life to put first things first—like being in God's presence and his Word.

Food is necessary for life. We spend much of our life obtaining it, preparing it, eating it, and as much or more time thinking about it. In fasting, the time spent nourishing our bodies now seeks God to feed our souls. The truth is that we need to nurture the body and the soul. When we take time to prioritize the spiritual over the temporal, it will often reorient our lives to the supernatural over the natural. I can't explain how this happens; I just know it does. Good is always the worst enemy of the best. Food is good; God created it, but sometimes you give up the good to get God's best—"every word that comes from the mouth of God."

At many times in our Christian journey, we tend to plateau. We become comfortable, get stuck at a certain level, and find it difficult to move forward. Spiritually speaking, we tread water, neither going forward nor backward. Since we are not going backward, we are not too alarmed. We don't understand that in the Kingdom of God, there is no such thing as the status quo. We are either moving toward God or away from him—there is no in-between. Fasting is a jolt to the system, but it is often what we need to move us out of our spiritual doldrums.

An old Puritan saying goes, "You will never lead souls heavenward unless climbing yourself. You need not be very far up, but you must be climbing."

Lord Jesus, keep us climbing.

Contact Ken and read more HERE.
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The steps to share your faith without fear – no confrontation. Pray and then get them alone.
Ask these five questions to help discover their personal spiritual condition.

Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?
To you, who is Jesus?
Do you think there is a heaven and a hell?
If you died right now, where would you go?
If what you believe were not true, would you want to know it?

Listen to their answers in a calm and open way. You are asking their permission to share Christ with the last question. If they say no, you can drop it – no confrontation. You have still done the work of Christ and offered the truth.

Here are a series of five Bible verses to ask the lost person to read aloud if you have their permission. Let them read them and remain silent. After each verse they read, ask them what it says to them. If they misunderstand, ask them to read it again until they admit the truth in the verse.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 ESV

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV

if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.… Romans 10:9-10 BSB

Then ask them a series of five questions that summarizes the truth of the verses and lead the lost person to the point of decision.

Are you a sinner?
Do you want forgiveness for your sins?
Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for you and rose again?
Are you willing to surrender yourself to Christ?
Are you ready to invite Jesus into your heart and into your life?

Lead them in the Sinner's Prayer if they are ready to make a decision. Stay in touch and get them discipled or connect them with a local fellowship or small group for future growth.

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