Wanna' fast for a few days? Join us as we pursue Jesus.

Well, here we go again! It’s been a little bit, but we’re gonna’ do another Daniel fast. Our fast will start Jan. 1 & end Jan. 17, 5pm.

Fasting is a way for us to focus on God. All around us things pull for our attention & most of these things have to do with ourselves or the world. God is concerned about our physical needs, but he is most concerned with our spiritual well being. Fasting is a way to remove certain things from our life in order to focus more clearly upon God, who he is, & who he is calling us to be.

Jesus fasted for 40 days; Moses fasted for 40 days; Paul talks regularly about fasting. In fact, throughout the Bible you will find examples of people abstaining from food in order to hear & know God more. Too, so many people in the Bible fasted that one thing is made clear: Fasting is good for the soul. Abstaining from the world helps you to focus on God.

What is a Daniel fast?
The concept of a Daniel fast comes from Daniel 1:8-14, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.”
• Daniel abstained from certain foods for a short period of time eating only vegetables.
What are we fasting?
• We will be fasting: All animal products (cheese, meat, milk, eggs, etc), sugar, coffee, alcohol, & T.V.
How do I know what is O.K. to eat?
• Basically we are leaving this question to each person. We only ask that you think about this question when approaching your fast: Is what you're about to eat a delicacy? Each person will have different "delicacies," so... Why press the boundries?
Why are we fasting T.V?
• We are fasting T.V. because it is a delicacy of the world. Although it doesn’t feed our stomachs, I think we’d all agree that T.V. feeds us. Daniel desired to “not defile himself…” & Jesus went into the desert for 40 days; why shouldn’t we remove from our lives the world’s greatest evangelistic tool to focus on God?

Use this time as a way to pursue God & his purposes in your life. My wife & I have often commented on our fasts being more “hunger strikes,” than rich spiritual exercises. Read more, pray more, compliment more, and share your faith in both word & deed with your neighbors. This fast should be a wonderful experience with the Creator of the Universe. Fasting is more about following Jesus than it is about not eating.