WR21 Fast - Day 4 - Real Living Ministries

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WR21 Fast - Day 4

WEEK ONE | Jesus Said Yes to a World That Would Say No to Him.

May 1, 2024 • Joy Chickonoski • John 1:14–18, Philippians 2:5–9

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DAY 4 - Today’s devotional was written by Joy, Co-Leader of RLM, and today’s reading is: John 1:14-18. When Jesus said yes to us, He said no to His glory.

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only [Son] from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and called out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; God the only [Son,] who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained [Him.]” [John 1:14-18 NASB20]

The word became flesh, the spoken word of God appeared on the earth in human form. Everything we need to know about God was revealed to us through Jesus Christ. Philippians 2 gives us more detail as to what it means to say that the word of God became flesh. Let's take a look.

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He [already] existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself [by] taking the form of a bond-servant [and] being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.” [Philippians 2:5-9 NASB20]

According to Philippians Jesus existed in the form of God but did not fight for it. Instead, He willingly laid it down for us. He emptied Himself. The Greek word used is kenoo and it means to “lay aside.” Jesus did not give up His deity – He chose not to rely on it. This means that He was 100 percent God and 100 percent man at the same time. This made what He accomplished even harder. He had the capacity at any time to rely on His deity. He could have stopped the nonsense. When the people mocked Him and said, “if you are the son of man come down from that cross!” He could have and destroyed them all! Except, He was thinking of us and not Himself. He had nothing to prove to broken humanity, He simply died for us that we might live. He said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do! That is some powerful, sacrificial love! When Jesus said “yes” to us, He guarded that “yes” with His “no” to His divine nature.

What does this mean for you and me? It means God doesn’t ask us to do anything that He didn't do Himself. He asks us to not rely on ourselves, but Him instead. He asks us to choose empowerment through the divine nature, instead of our prideful, unwise nature! He chose the humiliation of the human nature and paid our price for it, instead of relying on His nature of divinity. How dare humanity have such arrogance towards our humble, unconditional, sacrificial, loving God! Whatever price we have to pay to follow Jesus is put in perspective as we meditate on these truths!

1. How hard do you think it would have been to not use the power as God that Jesus had all along, but chose to lay aside and not grasp hold of it? Think about a time that you were falsely accused or mocked when you knew you were right. How did you handle that, now think about what Jesus did for you. Take a minute to soak in His willing surrender to such cruel arrogance for your sake.

2. How can you have this same attitude towards those in your life that may be hard to love? What do you have to say “no” to, to guard your “yes” to Jesus?

3. What are you going to say “no” to during this fast of the hectic life, so you can say “yes” to more time with Jesus?

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REMEMBER: Click the 'WR21 DETAILS' button for a list of the various ways we are fasting in preparation for Pentecost.

What is the WR21 Fast?

April 26, 2024

Curious what the WR21 Fast is? Then you're in the right place! Check out this short video from Joy to hear more about our upcoming 21-day Waiting Room Fast! Click on the WR21 button to get all the ways you can join us in this fast, and to say "yes, count me in"...let's do this together!

WR21 Fast - Day 1

April 28, 2024 • Joy Chickonoski • John 1:1–5, Genesis 1:1

DAY 1 - Today’s devotional was written by Joy, Co-Leader of RLM, and today's reading is: John 1:1-5, Jesus said yes, the world said no. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it. [John 1:1-5 NASB20] Welcome to the waiting room devotional. We will spend the next 21 days preparing our hearts for a personal pentecost by fasting the hectic/isolated lifestyle. So let's start at the beginning… This passage in John 1 was our theme verse in 2022, “Joy in His-story.” The Hebrew letter for the number two is bet and it means “covenant” or “habitation.” Jesus said “yes” to leaving all the glory of heaven, that was rightfully His, to come to earth and create habitation with humanity. Here is how it works, the number for God is one, aleph in Hebrew. It means “oneness.” In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word (Jesus) was with God and with the Word (Jesus) was God. Then Genesis 1:1 continues this thought, “In the beginning… the Spirit hovered over the surface of the deep.” John echoes Genesis when he writes, “And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not grasp it.” God was one, then He formed two. Two worlds now existed. Jesus became flesh and inhabited our world, so our bridegroom can become one flesh with His bride. Aleph is a silent letter, while bet explodes with the frequency of habitation. God is unknown (the darkness does not grasp the light) until He becomes known in the hearts of those who, by faith, see the unseen. Jesus said “yes” to us and when we say “yes” to Him heaven comes to earth and God’s glory is revealed! This will be the theme of our waiting room fast and devotional. It is a time to step away from our hectic/isolated lifestyle to habitat with God, to waiting upon Him so He can shine His light into our darkness. This is a Kairos moment in time to quiet our hearts and focus our thoughts upon God. Then, we can know the unknown, see the unseen and encounter Jesus in the R.E.A.L. world. It is time for overflow…again. 1. Ask Holy Spirit how He desires you to engage this fast for the next 21 days. Write down what He tells you. 2. Write out your response to His invitation to engage Him. How are you going to take advantage of this Kairos moment that has been prepared for you? 3. Share your thoughts with your family or prayer partner so you can share in the advantages of accountability. -------------------------- REMEMBER: Click the 'WR21 DETAILS' button for a list of the various ways we are fasting in preparation for Pentecost.

WR21 Fast - Day 2

April 29, 2024 • Perry Chickonoski • John 1:35, Psalm 139:15–16, John 1:6–10

DAY 2 - Today’s devotional was written by Perry, Co-Leader of RLM, and today's reading is John 1:6-10, John saw the light and testified to the truth; he gave his yes. A man came, one sent from God, and his name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. [John 1:6-10 NASB20] In the Gospels, the Apostle John was quick to identify who Jesus was and who John the Baptist was. Jesus was the Light of the world; John was His witness and came to testify about the Light. John prepared the way and pointed the people to the Light. Jesus was and is the Light. As evidence of the Baptist’s commitment to his calling, just a few verses later in John 1:35 he was talking with two of his disciples and as he saw Jesus he declared: “Behold, the Lamb of God." Immediately, the two followed Jesus. One of them was Simon and the other was un-named, which is the pattern the Apostle John used when referring to himself. The Apostle John had a very unique perspective as he was first a disciple of both John the Baptist then a disciple of Jesus. Because he knew who John the Baptist was (the one who prepared the way), John immediately trusted the Baptist’s testimony and followed the One for whom the way was prepared. King David understood that his life had God-given purpose when he said in Psalm 139:15-16: "For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my formless substance; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them." We all have a divine destiny and God put us here on the earth for a specific reason. There is no big or small in God’s economy – each of our lives are woven into His grand design and we have purpose. There is truth to the poem by William Ross Wallace that says, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” Never dismiss your calling as small, insignificant or unimportant. We do not know the lives we touch in our everyday. Like John the Baptist and King David, perhaps you know the destiny for which you were put on this earth. Perhaps, you’ve never known the purpose for which you were born. Let’s take a moment to ponder the following: 1. Ask the Lord “Why have I been put on this earth?” (if you already know, great!) Take a moment to write down what Holy Spirit tells you. 2. How does that destiny advance the Kingdom of God? 3. Prayerfully consider your “yes” to the destiny the Father has given you. 4. Ask Holy Spirit to give you the next step in fulfilling that destiny and give it your full yes! -------------------------- REMEMBER: Click the 'WR21 DETAILS' button for a list of the various ways we are fasting in preparation for Pentecost.