The Fast of Daniel- Day Eighteen

I know what it’s like to be an ugly duckling. I experienced it as a teenager, among schoolmates, at work and even at the church where I came to know my Lord and Savior.

Thank God for humble origins and a lower-middle-class upbringing. If it weren’t for them, only God knows where I would be today.
I became acquainted with the difficulties of being poor. On the other hand, I learned the value ​​of being humble, especially when it came to the value of keeping your word. My parents were my heroes.

Later on, this helped when it came to believing the Word of God. If I valued my parents’ word, though they were flawed humans, imagine the word that comes out of the mouth of God.

Today, whenever I see people who are ragged, suffering, mistreated and abandoned, I am reminded of my past. Although, I was never ragged because my parents gave us everything we needed for our education.
But truth be told, the only place I felt human and not like an ugly duckling was at home.

Right now you may feel ignored, empty, sad and like the world is falling apart around you.
But Jesus came for people like you and me—life’s ugly ducklings. People who are simple, lost, and above all, humble in spirit. He found me and is certainly finding you right now.
I don’t even know why I'm writing this to you.
But I believe His Spirit has touched me and is now using me to touch you.

What you have or have not done does not matter, nor does your long list of sins and much less your sad and empty past. What others think of you does not matter either...
What really matters is what He thinks of you.
He loves you and is showing this right now by embracing your whole being.
You know something: He has just found you right now!

While you are reading this, the Spirit of Jesus is rebuking the weight of your guilt, condemnation and past sins.
Your thoughts are changing, your emptiness is being filled.
A new day is being born for you. Sadness is giving way to joy and at this very moment, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Something very powerful is happening inside of you. It’s the Holy Spirit creating a new life within you.

Praise God!
Welcome to the family of God.

The Fast of Daniel- Day Seventeen

This is what everyone hopes for, even believers in Jesus.
But can hope alone give you a new life in the New Year?

All we have to do to answer this question is look back in time.
People in the past had the same expectations at this time of year. The same hopes. And what happened? Nothing. For many, it got worse.
Why is that?
Because a new life doesn’t depend on emotions, it depends on an active faith. But in what way?
Let's go back to biblical times.

God called Abraham to raise up a nation that would be separate from all the other pagan nations.
While in Egypt, Abraham's grandson, Israel, multiplied and became a great nation. The Lord then delivered them from the slavery of Egypt and helped them build a strong and powerful nation.

But because of their rebellion, Israel returned to the spiritual state of Jacob. They went back to being slaves in a foreign land.

History repeats itself. When people are spiritually healthy, there is peace, health and prosperity, but when they are far from God, the devil takes charge of their lives.

Nearly 100 years had passed since their return to the land of Palestine, and yet, in the days of the prophet Malachi, Jacob had once again become spiritually lost. The priests were immoral and so were the people.

Dishonesty, infidelity, marrying people of other faiths, divorces, idolatry, sorcery, adultery, profanity, stealing and every other sort of immorality was being committed.

And when they cried out to the Lord, He replied: For I am the lord, I do not change. You have gone away from My ordinances...
Return to Me, and I will return to you.
But you said: In what way shall we return?

So the Lord gives the recipe for a new life in the New Year: Be faithful with your tithes and offerings.Malachi 3:6-12
Of course!
A marriage cannot be restored without first restoring the principle of marital faithfulness. The same applies to restoring a covenant with God.

This year, start the New Year by being faithful to God and testing His faithfulness to you.
See for yourself if His Word is true or false!
Tithes represent faithfulness. They are a sign of your partnership with God.

When we are faithful to Him, He is required to do the same to us. That is why He promises to rebuke the devourer.

Whoever wants to begin a new life must be faithful to God with their tithes. Otherwise, they‘ll be hoping for a new life until the day they die, and nothing will have changed.

Think about this!

The Fast Of Daniel- Day Sixteen

Some seek the recognition of others to massage the ego of their souls;
Some use the glamour of the world to satisfy their soul;

Some spend their entire life in the pursuit of personal fulfilment;

Others even die for the glory that this world offers them.

But the glory that this world offers comes from below and ends when a person dies;

Whereas the glory that comes from Above—from the Holy Place—is everlasting. It comes straight from the Source of Glory, and it never ends.

Jesus was glorified by the Father when He received the Holy Spirit, after His water baptism. That day, He heard a voice from heaven saying,

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3.17

When the Holy Spirit comes He confirms that voice deep inside of those who are sealed with the Spirit.

It has nothing to do with feelings or emotions, and everything to do with assurance.

On another occasion, in anguish of soul, Jesus did not pray for help, let alone relief from the situation He was about to face.

Instead, He used reason to confront the feelings (anguish) of his soul, thereby teaching us a lesson: And what shall I say? “Father, save Me from this hour?” But for this purpose I came to this hour.John 12.27-28

Then He knocked the legs out from under his soul by saying, Father, glorify Your name.

In other words: Father, I sacrifice the impulses of my soul in order to do Your will.

A voice was immediately heard from heaven: I have already brought glory to My name, and I will do so again.John 12.28 NLT

When the crowd heard this voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared that an angel had spoken to Him.

But the most important point is that God the Father glorified God the Son before many witnesses.

The presence of the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to sacrifice the yearnings of our soul and fulfil the will of God. And when this happens, the glory of the Father is manifested in His children for all eternity.

Think about this!

May God bless you more and more.

The Fast of Daniel- Day Fifteen

Original Post By Bishop Macedo

Just as material sacrifices lead to material blessings, spiritual sacrifices lead to spiritual blessings.

God invites those who believe to test Him in tithes and offerings. In return, He promises to open the windows of heaven and pour out such blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it, in addition to rebuking the devourer. Malachi 3:10

Likewise, Jesus promised eternal life to those who would deny themselves, take up their crosses and daily follow Him. Matthew 16:24

In both cases, there is a need for sacrifice. However, the Apostle Paul takes it further when, directed by the Spirit, he pleads:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

This means that when there are no living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, there is no spiritual act of worship (remember: spiritual = rational). On the other hand, though many songs of worship are filled with messages of love, an emotional act of worship only floods people with feelings of excitement.

Some profess to feel God's presence, others 'speak in tongues' and even 'prophesy'. Let's not even mention those who twirl around, fall to the ground and walk on all fours. If they had wonderful testimonies, this would not be so significant. But, they don’t! Much to the contrary, their lives are total failures: broken homes, adultery, paedophilia, sexual immorality, grudges towards one another, divisions—in short, a true kingdom of darkness.

Why is this? It's because their spiritual act of worship is not rational, intelligent or conscious. How can the Creator be pleased with an emotional act of worship when He is Reason, Intelligence and Wisdom?

An emotional act of worship is similar to a decadent masquerade ball. Its participants wear costumes and masks to camouflage their hypocrisy and the works of their flesh. Who can preside over this spiritual farce?

The truth is, in the absence of spiritual (rational) acts of worship there will be emotional and fleshly acts of worship.

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."Galatians 5:19-21

It is interesting that Paul asks, pleads and begs the followers of the Lord Jesus to worship in a spiritual or rational manner, which requires that our bodies be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. That is, when we praise, worship and contemplate on the Lord it must be done in a thoughtful way.

This kind of worship is not restricted to church. If we are Temples of the Holy Spirit, there will be praise, worship and contemplation wherever we are.

Ideally, everyone in the church has the same faith and Spirit. There, our spiritual (rational) act of worship is united. There are appropriate hymns, songs of praise and individual declarations that exalt our Lord and Saviour.

While some praise, others worship, and still others contemplate the face of the Almighty. Everything is in perfect order and discipline.

Wherever there is this freedom, the Holy Spirit instructs, inspires and directs the praise, worship and contemplation of His Son in a generous, spontaneous and healthy manner.

The Fast of Daniel- Day Fourteen

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

Readers may ask why we insist on talking about sacrifice.
It would be easy not to talk about sacrifice. We would not expose ourselves to criticism, the messages would be lighter, we would please both Greeks and Romans and no one would feel offended.

However, because we do not work according to the rules of this world, we are not merchants of the Word, we do not live off the selling of books, we do not run for political office and are not concerned about attracting religious people, we’ve chosen to follow the inspiration of the Spirit of God and proclaim the truth that sets people free.

Those who believe, go forward. Those who don’t believe, stay behind with the foolish virgins.
The truth is, when sin does not instantly kill, it slowly beats a sinner to death.
Many people, Christian and non-Christian, are groaning and don’t know how to get rid of their agony.

The spirit of sin is possessing mankind and leading them to a state of chaos.
Although many people know the Gospel, only a few have the courage to put it into practice and dwell within the shelter of God.
Most prefer to stick to a message of salvation and avoid the sacrifice of the flesh.

Meanwhile, deceiving and antichristian spirits are free to work, causing relentless suffering in those who believe in God.
These recent days are not very different from the days of John the Baptist. In those days, not only did he preach repentance, he led sincere Jews to confess and abandon their sins. Matthew 3:1-10

Right now, wouldn’t this be God’s will for your life? What’s the point of looking for God’s help in church when you continue to live in adultery, fornication, stealing, lying, etc…

Who do you think you’re fooling?
What do you think you’re going to accomplish?
How long are you going to keep this spirit of sin inside of you?
Sin is a spirit. Whoever says yes to sin, says yes to its spirit.

How can a person get out of this prison?
Sacrifice your flesh until it dies of starvation.
Obviously!
If you sacrifice your flesh, where will the spirit of sin live?

If you want an immediate answer from God, then sacrifice to Him immediately. However, if you do not abandon a life of promiscuity, adultery, lying, stealing, immorality and everything else that pleases the devil, how do you expect the Spirit of God to work in your life?

The Fast of Daniel- Day Thirteen

Original Post by Bishop Macedo
Sadly, many see the altar as a haven of safety rather than a place of constant sacrifice.

At the altar they feel “protected” (from a guilty conscience), that their true spiritual state will not be exposed, as if the altar would give them a lifetime warranty, or free them from temptations so that they no longer have to go through the daily fight for their salvation. A sad mistake!

A few weeks ago an incident happen that I’d like to use as a warning to those who find themselves in a similar situation. After being married for seven years, a pastor’s wife cheated on her husband because she was not born of the Holy Spirit.
She had everything. Her husband was dedicated, a friend and a partner, faithful to God and therefore, faithful to his wife. What more could a wife want from her husband?

But, who knows what made her change her mind. She was moved by a spirit of lust that exercised its control over her, and didn’t think about how the consequence of sin is physical and/or spiritual death.
Her husband immediately allowed her to leave him. With nowhere to go, no way out, she returned to her parent’s house.

Then, filled with regret, she came crying to the wife of the bishop in charge, asking for help.
She came looking for support and the assurance that she had lost. She wanted to "borrow oil” from someone she knew would have oil. She was willing to accept any job and submit to any situation as long as she would be close to her old "haven of safety" – a place that gave her the peace she once had, and lost.

This wife wanted to help, but at the same time didn’t want to hinder the work of the Holy Spirit.

So she said to her:
"Do you remember the five foolish virgins? That’s right. When the groom returned, their lamps had run out of oil. They ran over to the five wise virgins and asked to borrow some of their oil. And what was their answer? ‘...we can’t give you the oil from our lamps or we will run out of oil too. Go to the market quickly and buy more’. But there was no time and they were left outside."

The bishop's wife concluded by saying: "I can’t take the oil from my lamp and give it to you. Seek while there is time. Make sure you don’t have a lamp that’s run out of oil when the groom comes to meet you."

Please understand, God’s actions are not based on emotions. No! In the end, He will not feel "pity" for those who are outside knocking on the door.
Right now you have time to go and buy more, and be spiritually rich. Or can’t you see that you’re running out of oil? Of course you do!

But why is it that many only notice they need more oil after they’ve already run out – when not even one drop is left? Many have a false sense of safety because they are close to the altar.

Spiritual blindness tempts people to think they can play around with sensuality and not run the risk of giving birth to an illegitimate child.James 1:14-15

When we sin we lose the rights that we once had. It’s a waste of time to complain, kick or want to justify ourselves...
Only those who submit to Jesus and accept who they are before God, and before men, will receive the POWER TO BECOME children of God. They will receive the Holy Spirit and His anointing.

Sooner or later a lack of oil will make the foolish go knocking on other peoples’ doors.

Viviane Freitas

The Fast of Daniel- Day Twelve

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

I doubt that God would require a level of faith from His children beyond what He has already given them!

But whoever wants to know the upper limit of his faith must simply look at the degree of sacrifice that he has been willing to make.

That is why Jesus said: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself (sacrifice), and take up his cross (sacrifice), and follow Me (sacrifice). Matthew 16.24

It's the same with love.
Whoever wants to know the actual intensity of their love for a loved one, should simply look at the sacrifices they have been willing to make for them.

The size of the faith is measured by the size of the sacrifice.
Whoever does not believe, does not sacrifice;
Whoever believes half way, sacrifices half way;
Whoever believes 100%, sacrifices 100%.

Wasn’t this Jesus’ response to the hypocrites?
Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:29-30

What I mean is this:
Whoever believes with all his heart, all his soul, all his mind and all his strength, will sacrifice with all his heart, all his soul, all his mind and all his strength.
Do you get the spirit of the thing?

In other words:
Sacrifice your heart;
Sacrifice your soul;
Sacrifice your mind;
Sacrifice your strength.
This is a fact. There’s no adding or subtracting to this. It’s hard, raw, pure reality.

Whoever wants to receive everything from God (the Spirit of God) has to completely sacrifice heart, soul, mind and strength.

God’s all for our all.

ALL FOR ALL!
Are you willing to do this?
And I’ll say more, those who believe don’t make excuses, they sacrifice.
But those who do not believe, seek to justify their unbelief by making excuses and blaming others.

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother.’” And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor (sacrifice), and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me (sacrifice). But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful (sacrifice saddens), for he was very rich.Luke 18.18-23

A sacrifice saddens the one making the sacrifice, but shows the quality of his faith to the One receiving the sacrifice.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has (sacrifice) and buys that field. Matthew 13:44

As you can see, pure faith is about obedience to the Word of God.
Faith requires obedience. And obedience is materialized through sacrifice.
Obedience is impossible without sacrifice.
Abraham was the greatest example of obedience.Hebrews 11.8-17

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,“ Abraham believed God (used his faith and sacrificed), and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. James 2.20-24

To summarize: faith without the work of sacrifice does not justify (forgive) anyone before God.

This is why most believers end up as failures, both spiritually and physically. They learned to accept Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord. If Jesus were their Lord, they would sacrifice their lives to serve Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

So then, hear O Israel of the last days, Jesus Christ is only Lord and Savior of THOSE who REALLY serve Him!

My Lord, have compassion on those who are sincere but deceived, and give them another chance. This I implore in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Fast of Daniel- Day Eleven

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

People have been aware of sacrifice since ancient times. It began in the Garden of Eden. The Almighty had to sacrifice an animal to cover up Adam and Eve’s nakedness, thereby replacing the fig leaves—the devil’s inspiration.

The fig leaves symbolize religion’s intent to cover up the nakedness of sin without sacrifice. In general, even evangelical churches do this. They seek to widen the door of the Kingdom of God with a doctrine devoid of sacrifice.

Was there no other way for the Lord to solve the problem of Adam and Eve’s nakedness other than the death of an animal? If there had been, He would have taken it.

Was there a way to save humanity without the sacrifice of Jesus? If there had been, He would have done it.

As you can see, sacrifice is not an option. From the very moment you decide to achieve something in life, you are obligated to open your hand and sacrifice.

The character of a thief rejects sacrifice. He prefers to prosper from other people’s sacrifices. Still, without intending to he risks his freedom and even his life to steal. Isn’t that also sacrifice?
A murderer would rather kill than forgive or let his victim go free.
A proud person chooses to hold on to his arrogance rather than humbling himself and apologizing.

There is no way out!
There is no area of our secular or spiritual lives in which sacrifice does not apply.
For a successful career you must be dedicated to your studies;
To get a monthly salary, you must work;
To maintain a healthy marriage, a couple has to sacrifice for each other;
To have an encounter with God, you must sacrifice your flesh;
To stay in the faith, you must sacrifice your will;
To receive the eternal salvation of your soul, you must sacrifice day after day.
Jesus said ... for whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life (sacrifice) for My sake will find it.Matthew 16:25

At sporting events athletes usually make the sign of the cross before entering the field. In other words, they pray to avoid injury and win.

Others turn to witchdoctors and fortune-tellers.

Sacrifices were so necessary and effective that before certain nations went into battle in the past, their priests would even sacrifice children to attract the favor of their gods.

The history of the people of Israel documents that their sacrifices alone, saved them.
Though they made alliances, were the chosen people, had the promises, and above all, had ancestors with accounts of faith, loyalty and commitment to God, in their time of need they still had to sacrifice to survive.

During a war with the Philistines, Saul felt pressured by circumstances, disobeyed the prophet Samuel and offered sacrifices to keep his army from deserting him.I Samuel 13.8-14

He did not have the authority to make those sacrifices. This was the exclusive task of the priests. However, moved by the spirit of fear he rushed to get it done. For this reason God regretted having made him king.

In those days the sacrifices before a battle guaranteed success. Knowing this, the soldiers charged against the enemy absolutely certain of triumph. They knew the secret to victory was their sacrifices to God.

The devil and his children hate sacrifice. Not even when Jesus says: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me (Matthew 16:24), do our “brothers” believe.

If you are not willing to follow this rule, there is no point in accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
The Lord Jesus demands three levels of sacrifice:
First: Deny yourself,
Second: Take up your cross and,
Third: Follow Him.

Which of the three is easiest? None.
All of them require sacrifice, sacrifice and more sacrifice.
To those who believe, go forward.
To those who do not believe, stay behind with the foolish virgins. Matthew 25:1-13

The Fast of Daniel- Day Ten

Original Post by Bishop Macedo

King David had close to forty special men. Among these men, thirty were very special and three were extremely special.

The extremely special men were:

#1 – Josheb-Basshebeth the Tahkemonite was the chief of the three. He raised his spear against eight hundred men and killed them all at once.

#2 – Eleazar the son of Dodo was among the three when they defied the Philistines... He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary and stuck to the sword...

#3 – Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines gathered together at Lehi, there was a piece of ground full of lentils, and Israel fled from the Philistines. Shammah stood in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.

Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David.

Now Abishai the brother of Joab, was chief of another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men and killed them. He won a name among these three. He received much honor from them and became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.

Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He killed two heroes of Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day. He killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature. The Egyptian had a spear, but Benaiah attacked him with a staff, wrested the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. He won a name among the first three mighty men. He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.2 Samuel 23

The question is: Which of these do you identify with in terms of faith?
Or do you not identify with any of them?

Either way, the Spirit of God is seeking men and women with this character of faith to establish His Kingdom in the hearts of those who are humble and sincere, but who have been trapped in the clutches of the Philistines.

Going to church, being a faithful tither and an offering-giver is just not enough. More is needed, much more.
David's brothers were men of war, soldiers in the army of Israel. But what difference did that make when Goliath appeared? Nothing. They cowered and even criticized David for having the faith to face the giant.

Most believers do the same. Evangelicals, Christians, they are faithful to the Church and their pastor, but at the same time they are weak.

How can the God of Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moses, Joshua, Jephthah, Gideon, David and many others free the prisoners of satan when He can’t find anyone willing to give their all… no people that place all their heart in the God of Abraham?

The Spirit of God is not about speaking in tongues, worship and singing.
The Spirit of the Lord anoints with His fullness in order to proclaim freedom to the captives of hell. Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18

This is why most Christians’ lives are worse than many unbelievers’ lives.
They believe in God but do not use their faith. They believe in His promises but do not have the faith to challenge Him to fulfill them. They believe in a theory but do not put it into practice.
Why?
Because deep down, they do not believe. They are wimps!
Read, meditate and draw your own conclusions from the following verse:

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him... 2 Chronicles 16:9

To those who believe, go forward.
To those who do not believe, stay behind with the foolish virgins.
Matthew 25:1-13