March 25-27

Philippians 4:6-7

6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

There is a time and a place in every believers heart when they decide they want to go hard after God. There are also seasons in an already devoted, maturing believers heart when they decide they will increase in focus or consecration for a season to pursue the Lord in a different way when the motives and circumstances seem right in their life.
I personally come before the Lord with my issues and my failures and I continually ask the Holy Spirit for grace to succeed and be perfect the way my heavenly Father is perfect (Matt5:48). Its in these moments that I turn from the ways that would engage in before and I will try to make a conscience effort to be different knowing the Holy Spirit will empower me to walk differently.
This is when the lie of the enemy comes in and he tries to make me think that I'm just pretending and that even though I say and act and think that "everything is all right" the devil keeps reminding me "no, everything is not all right look at all these issues in your life, look at all these areas of complacency and distress and unrest"
But the truth is as I take my thoughts and my prayers before my God, Who is all knowing, all loving and truly good I must give thanks to Him and I must tell myself that I'm not pretending but I am contending!
I wanted to write this in here to encourage anyone who comes to this page and anyone who will encounter the Lord this week in fasting and prayers and say: we have to get our heads up on things above. We gotta set our minds on a higher place (Eph 4:20-24) and we have to continually give thanks to God who seriously has made a way for us through the grace given by Christs blood which covers our lives(Eph 5:20). Don't let the enemy drag ya down with his lies. Settle in your heart where you want to be with the Lord and how deep you want your love to go for the Son and then push on by making it a reality in the ways you think, talk and act. Don't just pretend to live this life but truly contend to make it a reality. We all have to start somewhere. One step at a time is all the Lord is asking!(SOS 1:4)
Amen.
If you have questions email me (Drew) at:
mewithoutdrew@gmail.com
or
check out the Dec 18-21 2007 post.
God Bless!

March 18-20

James 1: 2-4

2Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

My sister gave these verses as the Word of the Lord over my life in this season. So i said "I'm going to use this as my next TVVT focus!" and so here we are.
I want this verse to pass from just words on a page to the Lord's sovereign touch on my heart.
This week lets fast and pray and really find the meaning of these verses asking the Holy Spirit to reveal all truth and to press the reality of what these verses say in our daily lives and to reveal more of the Father through them. Thank you Jesus that you've made a way for us to come close to You and that You've given us clarity in times of hardship through your Word, Your Spirit and Your undying love for us!
-Amen
If you have questions email me (Drew) at:
mewithoutdrew@gmail.com
or
check out the Dec 18-21 2007 post.God Bless!

March 11-13

Every week when i fast i like to have a special focus where i'll take a scripture to the Lord and really focus to pray it and meditate on it and let it drive deep in my mind and heart to let the Holy Spirit renew and change me. (Jn 17:17)
Fasting helps bring on a stronger burn for the Lord creating a heightened sense of spiritual awareness that can spur us on in deeper ways in our meditation, consecration, focus... etc.
This week i'll be looking at Proverbs 3:3,4
3Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.

These verses have great focuses for our love towards God and our love towards our neighbors. It covers both aspects of the two most important commandments that the Lord gives us. (Mk 12:29-31)
I want this to be alive in me on the inside and i want to have favor with God and man the way Jesus did or the way that Daniel did. I beleive the Lord is inviting us to dive deep in the ways of fasting and prayer to let Him accomplish this in our lives this week. So i invite you to join with me and fast these three days and pray that the Lord brings wisdom and revelation of His love and power in our lives to make this a reality within us by His Spirit. Amen
If you have questions email me (Drew) at:
mewithoutdrew@gmail.com
or check out the Dec 18-21 2007 post.
God Bless!

March 3-5

Its the GBF!!!! (Global Bridegroom Fast)
Lets join with saints all over the earth in a 3 day fast to encounter our Bridegroom Jesus Christ in an increased way and touch His heart through prayer to usher in the coming Kingdom of God.
http://ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?id=19844
God Bless!
-Drew

Feb 26-28

Hello everyone,

Sorry about missing last week. I was gone for a week long family vacation and we had no Internet access where we were staying. 

So we're right back into the groove pursuing the Lord with fasting and prayer and strengthened commitment to keeping His commandments!

This week I want to highlight Matt 7:12

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 

So if God the father the invisible, unknown, other - than, completely holy and transcendent being came down to give us a heads up on how to live and be more like Him and how to please His heart what would He say? He'd probably quote a lot of Matt 5-7. 

The Sermon on the Mt. is Jesus exhorting His followers in Christianity 101. He basically says everything very plain and simple and just lays it all right out for us. 

In my walk with the Lord I know the importance of falling in Love with Jesus and keeping His commandments. But i've also learned the importance of having that love manifest outwardly as love to the people who are around me. 

I love in Matt 7:12 how Jesus just says it so simply how we should be towards those around us and how our inward Holy Spirit fueled relationship should spill over into our daily personal relationships and interactions with people. 

The Law and the Prophets were Gods interaction with His people (the Jews) throughout history exhorting them on how they should be towards Him and each other. Jesus shows up and takes it all to the next level by gives us a huge advantage with increasing revelation and sending His Spirit and laying His life down to boost our success in following His commandments. 

This week i've set it into my heart to try and pursue this verse and enlightening way to act towards those around me. Its so simple but if you really sit and think about it its so profound. This is such a huge step in humility, treating others the way i want to be treated. Laying my life down for those around me (John 3:30, John 15:13).

Fasting is such a helpful tool in reaching out and going deeper during these times of pursuit of God. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied! (Matt 5:6) I want to be satisfied after this week of going hard after the reality of Matt 7:12 in my life! God will increase in my life and i will reach deeper into the realities of who He is and how His love effects my life. Lets do this together and seek the Lord this week. If we draw near to Him He will draw near to us!(James 4:8)

Amen.

(if you have any questions on this blog or on fasting please read the profile or the December 18-20 post of 2007 or e-mail me (Drew) at mewithoutdrew@gmail.com)

  

Feb 12-14

Here is something that’s been on my heart lately.

Matthew 6:14,15

14For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15but if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

In these verses in The Sermon on the Mount Jesus lays it right out for us and tells us the significance of forgiving others when they trespass against us.
So what does it look like when someone trespasses against me? How far should I take this verse?
One answer and a clear boundary is found in Colossians 3:12,13

12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you so also should you.

Its so very important that we as believers invite the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and to bring truth and direction and conviction of sin into our relationships. Our goal is to be free of sin and to be perfect and holy before our Father God. Let us not be found with a complaint against our brothers. Let us forgive those who trespass against us.

This week during the fast I’ll be looking into these verses along with the armor of God in Eph 6. I'd invite you to join along with me and go deep in the word to learn the strength given by God to achieve holiness and confidence while we press on with love for the Son. Let us conform our minds to that of Christ Jesus and by the power of the Spirit move forward day by day fasting and praying and meditation on the beauty of God to become more like Him, to be sons and daughters of our Lord.
Amen.
*For information on this page and this fast please read the profile or look at the Dec 18-20 2007 post. Also you can e-mail me at mewithoutdrew@gmail.com

Feb 4-6

The GBF.
Join with saints around the world fasting and praying for revival and a move of God throughout the earth to usher in the return of Jesus.
http://ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?id=19844
-Drew