Day Fifteen: Holy Spirit Activate

“God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace”.

1 Peter 1:2 (NLT)

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“Holy Spirit activate, Holy Spirit activate, Holy Spirit activate, activate, I said activate!”

This is a well known meme that became popular late last year. We may have laughed but we all know there is truth in this. We need the Holy Spirit to activate His power in our lives every single day. One of the most important areas in our lives for which we should be singing (or praying for) this, is in the area of holiness.

Holiness comes as a gift to us when we declare Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour, God declares that we are now holy (1 Peter 2:9). If we have received this gift then we should use it. Sanctification is the process of becoming holy and that is where we often drop the ball. We receive the gift but spend little, to no time, going through the process to develop it. Our holiness is first and foremost our devotion to God and this definitely requires stretching. Now holiness does not just mean isolating and withdrawing from all things worldly but it is choosing daily, to dance to the music of the Holy Spirit, rather than the music of the world (metaphorically and literally). It is stretching ourselves to make the intentional choice to practice spiritual disciplines, to discipline ourselves to cultivate mature fruit of the Spirit. Remember, we do not become holy by our own efforts, it is the daily activation of the Holy Spirit’s power within us! According to the Cambridge Dictionary, ‘’activate’’ means ‘to cause something to start’ but there is also a chemistry (specialised) definition; ‘to make a chemical reaction happen more quickly especially by heating’. The Holy Spirit’s power is a catalyst for our holiness.

God’s standard for holiness is clear, the Bible says in 1 Peter 1:16 ‘For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”’ - He is who we are striving to be like, not your favourite worship leader, not your friend who has been saved for 20 years, not even your pastor. Going back to the chemistry definition of activate is really exciting because heat is an activator often used in chemistry to get things going in a reaction. Do you need the fire of the Holy Spirit to ignite your process of sanctification? Do you need to revaluate what you are using for your standard of holiness? This year’s fasting period is the time to stretch yourself in the process of becoming holy, don’t wait until everything seems right or when you have lived your ‘full’ life in the world before you set yourself apart for God! The Holy Spirit is your helper, and He can activate your sanctification, if you are willing.

Further Study: 1 Peter 1, Psalm 119:9, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Hebrews 12:14, 2 Timothy 1:9, Psalm 139:23-24, Leviticus 20:26

Day Fourteen: Stretch Your Imagination

“I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 22:17-18 (NIV)

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What do you see when you think about your life? Do you see yourself doing the things that you think you should be able to achieve at this stage of your life, with your skills and from your background? Or do you see the incredible things that God has in store for you? The mind-blowing things that totally disregard your current status.

God needed to break it down to Abraham like this, with metaphors and similes because he wanted him to stretch his imagination. He wanted to get an old man, who had walked faithfully with Him, to dream crazy dreams. To dare to believe that his descendants would be so plentiful that they would be like millions of grains of sand that fill the banks of seashores. How amazing! I bet Abraham struggled to see everything else but this image when he closed his eyes.

Acts 2:17 says that ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams’. We need to allow God to stretch our imagination to have a vision in line with his magnificent vision He has for us.

God wants us to fathom the extent of what He is capable of if we can do as Abraham did when we walk in faithfulness and obedience. Our vision expands beyond what looks possible, because we are close to God, in constant communication with Him. We need to be willing to have sacrificial obedience even if it means letting go of things we treasure the most. We need to be so in tune with God that we can trust that His instructions never contradict the vision he has given us - even if they seem crazy.

We need to imagine ourselves free from affliction, imagine ourselves free from addiction. Imagine our families following us to church and knowing God for themselves. We need to imagine our churches filled with people turning away from sin. We need to cast down any imagination that tries to exalt itself above the knowledge and the truth of God so that your imagination is free to run wild with God. If you struggle to imagine these things for yourself, or struggle to believe the visions God is trying to give you, for whatever reason, you need to consume yourself in God's reality laid out in His word in this period of fasting and prayer. Search for scriptures that speak truth and life into your situation and let your imagination run wild!

We need to visualise it all. Visualise freedom and visualise your breakthrough. Write how it feels to finally be healed from that long term illness or to be finally holding your child in your arms. Visualise yourself being used by God in mighty ways for the kingdom. Stretch your imagination!

Further Study: 2 Corinthians 10:5, Habakkuk 2:2-3, Jeremiah 29:11; Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:17-19

Day Thirteen: Stretch Marks

“Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.” Daniel 6:3 (NIV)

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When we stretch ourselves for God’s kingdom, God puts a mark on us. We are distinguished and highly favoured. Stretching ourselves in the kingdom requires discipline, a little stretch everyday is what changes us. When you consistently stretch yourself to serve, to give, to pray and fast to live for Him, God honours you by putting his mark on you.

Stretching brings growth in all aspects of your life such that you are marked by all to see.

Let's consider Daniel, a young man who was very disciplined and who stretched himself so much that he became distinguished. Daniel was disciplined in fasting and prayer. In Daniel chapter 1, Daniel was offered the best of everything in the king’s palace, but the Bible said that ‘Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself’. Daniel made up his mind, in other words, he decided and then he acted. As a result of his decision to stretch himself beyond his peers so that he could please God, the Bible says, ‘Now God granted Daniel favour’. In 2022, the favour you are looking for is a result of your stretch, your resolve to set yourself apart for God. This fast can change the course of your life. Daniel’s 10-day fruit fast did just that. He fasted faithfully, disciplined, having made up his mind to seek God and as a result he was better and healthier than all the young men who ate the king’s finest food. Favour does not just come by ad hoc prayer requests; it comes by discipline.

Later in Daniel chapter 6, we read that Daniel distinguished himself among all his peers, his colleagues in high places and they were jealous of him. They knew that his secret to his distinction was his commitment to prayer. In fact, they set up a trap which meant Daniel found himself in a den of lions. Yet his discipline in prayer also gave him favour with even lions, because even they recognised that Daniel was marked!

Commit yourself to this fast and God will distinguish you. Commit yourself to prayer and even your enemies will work for you. Kingdom discipline is rewarded with favour. God will put his mark on you!

Further Study: Daniel 1, Daniel 2, Daniel 6, Genesis 39:1-6, Genesis 39:20-23