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Day 7 Devotional - Getting Fit Spiritually


Let’s declare this year to be a year of holiness—as individuals and as a church. Can you imagine all that God can do if we all make holiness a priority?

“So get rid of all uncleanness and all that remains of wickedness, and with a humble spirit receive the word [of God] which is implanted [actually rooted in your heart], which is able to save your souls.” ~James‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭(AMP‬‬)

Walking in righteousness takes work and intentionality, just like being physically fit and healthy, especially if we want to see the results. If we want things to go well—and we don’t want to be miserable on the inside— then we have to be willing to make sacrifices from the things of this world.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renewa loyal spirit within me.” ~Psalms‬ ‭51:10‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

Notice the word renew in the verse above. What does that mean? We already had a loyal spirit within us (when we gave our life to Christ), right? We are His creation. We are made from His image. 

Unfortunately, the longer we are alive, the more opportunities are presented to fill our minds with the things of this world. So now what? Like King David, ask God to create in you a clean heart and to renew a loyal spirit within you. What else? Monitor and control the thoughts you allow to enter your mind.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” ~‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

“It (the Word) teaches us to reject ungodliness and worldly (immoral) desires, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives [lives with a purpose that reflect spiritual maturity] in this present age,” ~Titus‬ ‭2:12‬ (‭AMP‬)

What are we filling our minds with? What shows and movies do we watch? What music do we listen to? Are they filled with things that are contrast to God’s Word? 

A personal pet peeve of mine is when someone justifies watching/listening to garbage by saying, “Well, I grew up with it and/or I hear it every day at work so it doesn’t bother me.” Have we become that calloused? We must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Filling our heads and soaking our minds with wicked things will always lead to wicked behavior. Always. Go back and read Romans 12:2.

Wouldn’t you rather fill your mind on things that are pleasing to God, so you can have pleasing words and behavior as the result? Notice that Romans 12:2 commands us to be different from the world—not the same as the world. 

How are we supposed to lead people to Christ if we are doing the exact sinful things they are? We are supposed to let God transform us. TRANSFORM means we do not stay the way we were before surrendering to Christ.

Turn From Wicked Ways — Not Surrender To Wicked Ways

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” ~‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭7:14‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

It can seem hard to not get to watch certain movies or listen to certain music—like we are missing out on something—but remember what the above verse says, “...if we humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways, we will hear from heaven…” I don’t know about you, but I want to hear from God! The reward is oh-so-much better than missing out on a movie. In the end, our minds won’t be cluttered with trash and we will actually be able to hear God’s voice! 

Let me help clarify by sharing an example of a couple of movie reviews I researched.

Popular Comedy Movie

  • More than 150 uses of profanity (100 F words alone)
  • God's name (yes, the one we worship) is misused about 40 times (I don’t want that 41 to come) 
Popular Horror Movie: 
  • Absolutely nothing about this movie is uplifting 
  • Filled with bad language and profanity
  • Almost all of the bad language comes from the mouths of children. What?! Yep. 
  • The F-word is used at least 40 times

Yikes, right?!

I could go on and on and on. Instead, why not use the following Scripture as your filter for 2019:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” ~Philippians‬ ‭4:8-9‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

I want that kind of peace. 

Do you?

Annette Tate
Pastor Chuck's Wife

THE DATES
We began the fast last night at 10pm (CST) and will end at 10pm on January 10th.

FOCUS
This Daniel Fast is a spiritual discipline designed to better connect us with God as we take 10 days to deepen our relationship with Him and center ourselves around what He is going to do in RockChurch and in our lives during 2019. This will be a challenging process, but we look forward to hearing from Jesus and experiencing Him with intensity during this time of fasting and prayer.

PRAYER
Don't forget to PRAY during your fast as prayer is the key! Without it, the fast is just a diet. 

Please email us prayer requests at info@rcpeoria.org.

MENU
The Daniel Fast is a partial fast, which means that we will eliminate some common things from our daily diet, but will have generous options available. We will focus on eating fruits and vegetables. 

FOODS TO EAT
Whole grains (brown rice, oats, barley), legumes, fruits, vegetables, honey, liquids (water, soy milk, herbal tea, natural fruit juice). Some people choose to drink coffee (because it's a bean) so we recommend decaf if you choose to do that.

FOODS TO AVOID
Meat, poultry, fish, fried foods, caffeine, carbonated beverages, foods containing preservatives or additives, refined sugar or sugar substitutes, white flour, margarine, shortening, high fat products, breads, dairy (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, etc.)

ADDITIONAL IDEAS
If you cannot eat fruits and vegetables for 10 days, maybe you can sacrifice another area of your life? Here are some ideas: social media, soda, Starbucks, Netflix

RESOURCE
Fast Like Daniel: 21 Day Devotional That Will Change Your Life (based on the book by Scott Williams) is a reading plan available on YouVersion Bible App. Click HERE for more information.
Copyright © 2019 RockChurch, All rights reserved.


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