Day One - Daniel Fast

The first day of any fast is always a little hard. Every time that I found I was getting hungry I just drank a glass of water or some orange juice. Yeah, I pretty much drank about 10 glasses of water and 5 glasses of orange juice. The cool thing about today was I had an opportunity on 3 occasions to give testimony of what God is doing in my life.

First, I went to the gym to get a little exercise since today was my day off. For anyone interested in whether it is ok to work out during a fast I think it is fine, as long as, you remember you won't have as much energy. I gave out a little quicker on the cardio and I used less weights. It is interesting how after just 12 hours of not eating your body already starts slowing down. Anyway, at the gym in the dry sauna after working out (I drank a lot of water after this) there was a man in there who I talked with for a while. I found out he goes to church and tried to encourage him a little in his faith. I find that I like building relationships with people in a setting outside of church because sometimes as pastors we spend so much time in a church building we don't make time to talk with others who may need to know Jesus.

The second time I had a chance to share some testimony of who God is was actually through an email. I had on the local sports talk station on here and heard the guy on the radio talking about his belief on the Bible. This came out of a discussion on homosexuality and how he didn't know if the Bible talked about homosexuality or not. He also pointed out that he didn't see a difference between someone who practiced homosexuality and someone who didn't follow the other parts of the Bible (which I agree). However, he took the stand that I believe many people who don't have a relationship with Jesus take. Basically he said that first he knew he wasn't perfect and he already messed up on following the Bible completely. Then he said he wasn't crazy about how people who claimed to use the Bible as a guide point fingers at others and they are not doing all it says either. So I got home and emailed him, which I haven't heard back from and probably won't.

Here is what I wrote:
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I appreciate your honesty and how real you are on your show. You are probably one of the most knowledgeable about sports and you are not afraid to lay it on the line. Thanks!

Concerning the Bible, there is a huge misconception that people have. The Bible is not a book designed for people to point a finger at other people and say all the things they do wrong. The Bible is the revealing of how perfect and Holy God is and how we don’t come close to it. In the Bible it is explained that all people who are not perfect will be separated from God. That’s all of us, not the concept of those who are homosexual or have sex before marriage as you mentioned.

The problem is when we look at the Bible tells us how to live and then we condemn anyone for not living perfectly by it. God gave us His commands and guidelines for living to show us how desperately we need Him, not so we can brag to others about how we are better than someone else.

So why bother trying if we are not perfect? The truth about the Bible is that it teaches that if you depend upon Jesus instead of yourself then you can be made right with God. It is your belief that Jesus has taken our punishment for us. I as a Christian cannot point my finger at someone else who doesn’t believe in Jesus or the Bible and condemn them. Only God has the authority to do that. My role as someone who believes the Bible to be truth is to clarify it to people, teach it and reveal what God is actually saying in it. It is up to each individual person to make the decision on whether they accept it or reject it.

Thanks!

Kevin Deming

Probably the best book I have read about understanding the Bible is called, “Stranger on the Road to Emmaus,” by John Cross. If you’re a reader you should try and get it. I know you can find it on Amazon.
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Thirdly, I went to my son's parent teacher conference. As she was talking about how kind my son is at school and said she thought we did a good job teaching him to look to others, I used that as another opportunity to give testimony of how we talk about what the Bible teaches and we pray together about things that may be troubling him. It was another moment for me to be able to share how God works in my life and my kid’s lives.

So my first day on the fast was very interesting. I am not outwardly seeking to talk to everyone I know about Jesus. I am outwardly seeking my God and allowing Him to direct me to talk to everyone He wants me to. My prayer during this time of fasting is to grow deeper in my intimacy with God. I am going to read through the book of Hebrews during this fast. I chose Hebrews because I am not currently teaching out of it and want to have a book of the Bible I am meditating on that is not one I am just using to prepare for lessons.

Another thing to note for anyone who is going to do a fast of any kind is, if you are a regular caffeine drinker, you may expect a headache the first day or so. The good news is that it does go away and you feel better the next day.

Thanks!

Kevin

By the way, that apple I ate after the 24 hour liquid fast was pretty sweet!