NEW COVENANT | 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting | Day 14

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance
Hebrews 9:15 NIV

A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties. God reveals Himself progressively through the Bible as a covenant making, covenant keeping and covenant enabling God.

God initiated all of these covenants, which progressively revealed over the ages, a new aspect of His redemptive character and nature. Every covenant that God established made a way for those who honored Him, to know God and become beneficiaries of His promises in ever greater ways.

However, all of these covenants were temporary, until the new covenant was established through the shed blood of Jesus. This was the only covenant that dealt with sin and it’s penalty, once and for all.

“For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all” Romans 6:10 Amplified

God removed the old so that He could establish the new. A new and better covenant with new and better promises.

“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for He is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises” Hebrews 8:6 NLT

The writer of Hebrews adds; “Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.” Hebrews 7:22 NIV

This means that God, not only established a new covenant, but He Himself became the guarantor of that covenant. A covenant of grace not law, guaranteed by God’s perfect sacrifice, not by whether we do right or wrong.

Jesus’ last words on the cross were. “It is finished.” The Greek word used for “finished” is “tetelestai.” This word was written on business documents or bills in new testament times to show that a bill had been paid in full.

NEW HOPE | 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting | Day 13

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13 NKJV

A human being can live without almost anything except hope.

Hope is not only important or beneficial, it’s essential for our survival

Victor E Frankl who survived the Aushwitzconcentration camp said:

“prisoners who gave up on life, who had lost all hope for a future were inevitably the first to die. They died less from lack of food or medicine than from lack of hope, lack of something to live for.”

When Israel & Judah had been taken into captivity God knew that the greatest threat to their survival was not their captivity but it was a loss of hope. SoGod said to them:

“After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:1-11 NKJV

Likewise regardless of our current circumstances God wants us to be filled with Hope as we look into our Future 

It’s so easy to see our future through the lens of our present experience, our limitations, a feeling of being overwhelmed, not knowing what to do next, all of which create a sense of hopelessness.

But God is the God of hope who can fill us with hope, joy and peace even in the midst of our greatest difficulties.

When Paul was on a ship bound for Rome, in a storm that was about to sink everyone on board, all hope of being saved was lost. Paul stood up and said; “don’t lose hope, take heart because God is going to save us all”

Paul was able to proclaim a different future, and to infuse hope in those onboard, because He knew God as a God of Hope and he knew the truth of the words he wrote to the church in Rome: “hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us” Romans 5:5

So the more we get to know Jesus this year, the more hope will rise in us, and the more our lives will be filled with joy and peace because our hope is in the God of hope who never disappoints.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace this year as you believe in Him and abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

NEW CREATION | 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting | Day 12

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Cor 5:17 NKJV

When we accept Christ as our Savior, we become a new creation and as Jesus said to Nicodemus, we are born again.

Becoming a Christian is not just turning over a new leaf, changing our behavior or becoming a better person, it’s becoming a new person in Christ.

Paul writes, the old things have passed away and ALL things have become new. We now have a new nature, we become a new person. We who were spiritually dead are made spiritually alive.

Water baptism is a perfect example of what happens to us spiritually. Our old nature is symbolically buried in the waters of baptism and we rise up out of the water as a new person, to walk in newness of life.

Even though our old nature has been buried, the struggle between our old and new nature, our flesh and our spirit is very real. Our old nature and our flesh, which have a bias towards sin, are always trying raise their ugly head, however God’s word says, sin shall no longer have dominion over us.

Galatians 5:16-17 NLT
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other.  

Whatever we feed, will inevitably grow stronger. When we feed our spirit we become stronger spiritually, but if we feed our sinful appetites, then our sinful nature is awakened and grows stronger.

When we fast, we are denying our flesh so that we can awaken our and strengthen our spirit. We are taking off the old nature and putting on our new nature, so that we can live our new life, created in the image of Jesus.

The miracle of the new birth means that we are new creations in Christ, with a new nature, created to live a new and living way. As we fast and pray may our spirits be awakened, attuned to God in ever greater ways and may we live that new creation life.

NEW UNDERSTANDING | 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting | Day 11

“So the king [   Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this. There is no one as wise and understanding [discerning] as you are .”
Genesis 41:34 EXB

When Joseph was summoned by Pharaoh, he listened to Pharaoh’s dream and interpreted the meaning of it, which was something that nobody else had been able to do.

Joseph was able to do this because he had both understanding and wisdom. He understood the meaning of the dream, and he had the wisdom to know what Pharaoh should do during the seven years of plenty and famine that were coming upon Egypt.

When Joseph told Pharaoh that someone with wisdom and understanding should be chosen to oversee his plan, this is how Pharaoh responded:

“So Pharaoh said to Joseph, You’re the man for us. God has given you the inside story—no one is as qualified as you in experience and wisdom. From now on, you’re in charge of my affairs; all my people will report to you. Only as king will I be over you.”
Gen 41:39 Message

The message version of the bible paraphrases “understanding” as “having the inside story”. Understanding is the ability to see the inside story in any interaction or situation we find ourselves in.

The word ‘understanding” is also translated as “discernment.”

The Greek word for the gift of discernment is Diakrisis, meaning the ability to distinguish, discern, judge or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment. 

Joseph’s understanding gave him the inside story that enabled him to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, see his own dream become a reality and save the nations from starvation in a time of severe famine.

Let’s pray that like Joseph, God will give us the ability to see the inside story in every conversation, personal interaction and situation this year; and that new understanding and discernment will bring new life and blessing to us and those in our world.

NEW KNOWLEDGE | 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting | Day 10

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him

Ephesians 1:17 NRSV

The bible talks about two main kinds of knowledge. The knowledge that comes through learning and the knowledge that comes through experience.

Both are important for our growth and the fulfilment of our God given purpose.

The moment we stop learning and experiencing new things is the moment we stop growing. The moment we think we know it all, is the moment we know everything we’re going to know.

In the opening chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, Paul articulates his prayer for them, that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they would know Jesus fully. That they might know the hope of His calling, the riches of the glorious inheritance that is ours in Christ and the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.

The Greek word that is used for to “know” is the word “epignósis” which comes from the root word “gnosis” meaning “knowledge gained through first hand relationship” or “contact knowledge, first-hand, experiential knowing.”

Paul’s prayer is not just that we would know about what Christ has done for us; but that we would know by personal, firsthand experience the depth and breadth of the finished work of Christ, and the fullness of the infilling and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

It is only then, as we know God in ever deeper and greater ways, that we can begin to truly grow.

Paul’s prayer was not just for the Ephesian church but for us also! Let’s ask God to give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in new knowledge of Him so that this year we will grow with newfound hope and faith for the future.

NEW WISDOM | 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting 2020 | Day 9

For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 

Proverbs 2:6

Solomon writes in the book of Proverbs about the importance of knowledge, understanding and wisdom, and how all three work together to bring blessing to us and our world.

Knowledge is knowing the facts. Understanding is knowing the meaning of the facts. Wisdom is knowing what to do with the facts.

We need both knowledge and understanding but wisdom is the most important of all.

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom” Proverbs 4:6

Solomon knew the value and rewards of wisdom and goes on to say in the following verses:

“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you…she will watch over you… she will exalt you…she will honor you…present you with a glorious crown… the years of your life will be many…your steps will not be hampered and you will not stumble!” Proverbs 4:6-12

That’s why Solomon was so passionate about wisdom and why he wanted to instill the importance of wisdom in his children. Solomon knew that God is the source of all wisdom.

“Reverence for the Eternal, the one True God, is the beginning of wisdom; true knowledge of the Holy One is the start of understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 The Voice

He also knew that he was given wisdom because, when he came to the throne as a young man, he had asked God for wisdom above all else. Because he for wisdom God gave him wisdom greater than anyone else, along with immense wealth, honor and fame.

Knowing that God is the source of all wisdom, just as Solomon did, we can ask God for wisdom, knowing that God will hear and answer our prayer.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 NIV

Let’s ask God for wisdom and believe that just like Solomon, we will receive new wisdom from God for this new day!

NEW MIND | 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting 2020 | Day 8

But we have the mind of Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:1 NKJV

The Apostle Paul had one of the most brilliant minds of his generation. Prior to his conversion, the early church was experiencing explosive growth.

During this time Paul used all of his mental faculties to hunt down Christians, arrest them and destroy the church. 

But something happened while Paul was on the road to Damascus, breathing threats and murder against the followers of Jesus. He had an encounter with Jesus that radically transformed him and changed the trajectory of his life.

The one who hated the name of Jesus now called Him Lord. Saul became Paul. The persecutor became the persecuted. The one who tore down the church was now building the church. The greatest opponent of the church became the greatest proponent of the church and Paul’s brilliant mind was now being used to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Paul had a new mind, a new message and a new mission.

Paul who previously had a mind of his own could now say to the Corinthian church that he had the mind of Christ.

Paul’s greatest legacy was the letters that he wrote to the church. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul describes the church as the body of Christ, and that just as Christ is the head of the body, He is the head of the church.

When we, the body of Christ have the mind of Christ, then we begin to think like Him and we have His purpose in mind in all that we do.

Paul knew the power of the mind of Christ and the power a new mind, so he writes and exhorts us:

“be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God.” Ephesians 4:23-24

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 2:5

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2

May we like Paul be able to say, we have the mind of Christ, and as we set our minds on Christ, have His greater purpose for our lives in mind in all that we say and do.