by Chris O’Dell
At Aroma, we’ve developed a habit of beginning each new year with a time of prayer and fasting. We believe it’s a special way to usher ourselves into a new year with a focus on God’s work in our lives. This year, we had a coinciding sermon series.
Our first week focused on our upward relationship with God. Here are 10 of my personal notes and highlights from the content of the sermon.
1. Fasting is giving up something physical to pursue God’s spiritual best.God has presents for us. 2. We often have to be willing to let go of what we’re holding on to in order to actually receive what He wants to give us.
3. Relationship with God is a radical and well-rounded pursuit.
4. Our life is often a tension between two things. There’s absolute truth in God, and there’s an in-absolute journey of God getting us there. It’s the joy and pain of life.
5. You don’t get anywhere by being half something. The world is looking for a radical picture of life abundant.
6. The goal of fasting is disciplining yourself so that you’ll receive. Abide in me. Discipline yourself. Then, you’ll bear fruit. Man doesn’t live on bread alone. Do we really believe our spiritual is as important as our physical nourishment. All of these say, “Trust God first. Rely on God first. Then, you’ll get what you need.”
7. Manna, or God’s supernatural provision in your life, happens in the desert (Exodus 16:1-12).
8. God is drawing us to an intimate relationship with Him. He’s inviting us upward, to abide. He’s inviting us to receive daily manna, or supernatural provision, in our lives for him. He’s inviting us to deny, even the good things in our lives, so we can walk in His best.
9. Your taste buds physically reset after 21 days.
10. Jesus is the only one tempted in every way as we are and yet without sin. One of the greatest examples of temptation he went through happened in Matthew 4. As he was fasting, Jesus was tempted with personal gain (loaves from stones), fame (angels’ care), and political power (the authority over all the nations in the world) (from Redeeming Sex).