Fasting Guide 2021

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”- John 6:35

With our Annual Church Fast beginning this week (February 21-April 3) and running until Easter, I have a deepened sense of anticipation and focus for what God wants to do in my life, in our church family, and in our city. The words of Jesus here, serve as a call to draw near to God and a reminder to depend on Him with all our life’s needs.

The discipline and devotion act of FASTING could certainly use a refresher in the faith community. So, with this being WEEK 1 I felt it would be wise to provide a little guide to get us clearly focused and started on the right track together.

WHAT IS FASTING?

In the Bible fasting is our withholding from food in order to better discipline the flesh and focus on God. As we deny our physical appetites, we allow them to be replaced with a spiritual hunger for God. To grow closer to Him and stronger in Him. In addition to fasting from food we will be looking at other daily practices and activities to take a break each week* (*see below).

WHY FAST DURING EASTER?

Many churches, including our Foursquare Family, choose to do a twenty-one day fast beginning on January 1st. As great as this focus on personal commitment and spiritual growth can produce, we believe that God’s call to fasting should also focus us on loving, helping, and sharing faith with others (see Isaiah 58). Each year we fast at Easter time because we are believing for the SALVATION of many lives and BREAKTHROUGH in our own.

HOW CAN I JOIN THE FAST EACH WEEK WITH THE CHURCH FAMILY?

Each week we will be providing a fast focus, an act of kindness to perform, a Bible reading plan, and a video devotion from one of our leaders. Here is a breakdown for WEEK 1:

· Fast Focus: A TYPE OF FOOD (I am doing bread and sweets)

· Act of Kindness: GROCERY GIVEAWAY. Load up a grocery bag with canned/non-perishable food items to be given away. Check out places to give at www.foodpantries.org/ci/ca-thousand_oaks

· Bible Reading: John 1-7* (*Try reading at least one chapter a day)

· Video Devo: CLICK HERE to watch this week’s devo on Fasting

As we begin our Easter Fast, let’s believe for God to meet us and move in our lives. May we experience His transformative power based on the truth of His promise, spoken by Jesus in Matthew 4:4, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”