Dear Amistad member:
We are living in exciting days! The Lord is answering prayers at every level at Amistad. I believe we are on the verge of something big and with great expectation; I invite you to join with us in our 21 days of Daniel's fast. We have several recommendations to carry us through this period. Please read through all the material so you can participate with success.
Sam Lozano
Daniel 10
II Chronicles 29-31
Isaiah 58
PREMISE: We will be looking for God's face for a change of heart and mind and for a spirit of repentance. To make repentance a life-style so that god can live in our "temporal tabernacle." (I Corinthians 6:19)
Repentance:
Greek: "metanoya" to change our minds and hearts
Hebrew: "shawb" to retreat or strop from doing something
In II Chronicles 29, we can see that King Aha, be rebelling against God, closed the doors to the house of God, but his son, Hezekiah, did three things:
1. He opened the doors to the temple (II Chronicles 29:3)
2. He cleaned the temple (II Chronicles 29:5)
3. He sanctified the temple in eight days and re-established the sacrifice once again (II Chronicles 29:17)
We are the temple of God (I Corinthians 6:19). The doors to our temple should always be open to receive the Lord.
If you are only looking for the Lord on Sundays or Tuesday Bible study, then you have shut the doors to your temple. God wants to meet with us every day so that he can maintain the temple clean and holy.
Daniel's fast kept Daniel in his purpose (Daniel 10). We invite you to be a participant during these 21 days of fasting. Decide to live differently.
The following suggestions are meant for you to carry this fast with success:
1. Choose an appropriate time to gather your family every day (dinner time is perfect)
2. For 21 minutes (everyday) read the Word together with your family and allow them to express concerns or something for which they need repentance.
Let all family members express their feelings about forgiveness and repentance (we will be surprised how much we can learn from them).
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER
It is important to have these moments without distractions. We recommend turning the T.V. off and not answering the telephone during your daily family meeting.
3. The fast can be Daniel's fast (Daniel 10:3)
A. Eat mainly fruits, vegetables and soups during the 21 days
(it is recommended that you abstain from red meat during this time)
B. Three of the last day of the fast drink only water and juices.
C. Try fasting at least one meal per day.
D. Abstain from sweets and junk food
E. Fast the extra time you spend in front of the T.V.
F. Read the word and spend time in Prayer every day
Choose the fast pattern you know you will be able to carry out. Do not starve yourself. The true fast is to be in the Word of God and forsake food for a moment.
DECIDE TO LIVE DIFFERENTLY!