Scripture: Matthew 22:8-13

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Scripture: Isaiah 61:10

“For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness”.

Learn: In the Parable Jesus looks up and sees a man who isn’t dressed for a wedding even though he’s at one! The bible calls us to be clothed with righteousness. Imagine the “wake up” call this guy had as he was being thrown out!

Being righteous means to be in “right standing” with God. In other words there’s nothing between God and us. Sin is what comes between us in our relationship with God. Is there any areas you need to get right with God?

Prayer Starter:

-Ask God any areas of your heart that aren’t “clothed in righteousness”

-As he shows you things, confess them and ask for forgiveness.

-Write down whatever he tells you journal about ways you gain victory

in that area and walk in righteousness.

Last week’s message mix – click here to listen

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12 (AMP)

12For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

Scripture: Psalm 119:11

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Learn – The bible is the only collection of books/writings that literally will make us come alive when we read it. The less word of God in us the easier it is to get distracted from God. With the help of the Holy Spirit the bible will become the greatest source of God’s heart for revival in the earth.

Memorize and Meditate: Find a scripture today and memorize. When you find one don’t just memorize it but take time to “think deeply” about it in prayer. The more scripture in your heart the clearer God’s voice will be in your life.

Scripture: John 14:6 (AMP)

6Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-17 (NKJ)

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven

Journal: Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life – Write down how you can have Jesus more alive in your every day life. Jesus asks His disciples “who do you say that I am”, our life is the response to this question. What does your life say? And what do you want your life to say?

Prayer Starter: Jesus show me who you are! I want to know:

Your Ways (how you do things), Your Truth (who you really are in all areas of life) and Your Life (actually desiring/liking to live my life like yours on the earth)

Scripture: John 3:16 (AMP)

16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:3 (AMP)

3The Lord appeared from of old to me [Israel], saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you

Learn: The reason Jesus needed to die on the cross was because we separated our selves from God when we sin. God knowing that we are sinners still sent His son to die on the cross on our behalf. We don’t deserve life, yet God gives it to us by His son’s death.

Journal: What does today’s scripture say about God’s love towards us? The bible says that God loves us with an everlasting love. Imagine how long you have been on God’s mind before you were born! An earthly father’s heart comes alive when he sees his son/daughter for the first time. What do you think God’s heart did the moment you left God’s imagination into reality on this world?

Scripture: Psalm 139

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

Prayer Starter – God wake me up to your love! Your love is what motivates me to live for Jesus. Your thoughts about me are too great to count. Even though I don’t feel that I deserve your love, I am eternally grateful you choose to love me! Your heart for me is greater than any negative thought I have of myself!

Click and watch video blog- First Day of Fast – Click and watch video blog

Scripture: Ephesians 5:8-14 (NKJ)

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

“ Awake, you who sleep,

Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light.”

Journal: Underline the parts of this scripture in your bible that jump out at you and then write down why they jump out at you in your journal.

Take action: If you have something in your life that is reminding you of your old self get rid of it! Throw it away, don’t sell it, don’t store it, and don’t give it to a friend….throw it away. Every time you see that thing it will remind you of the days when you walked in darkness.

Prayer Starter: God wake me up! Let your light shine everywhere I go and whatever area is making me fall asleep expose it in you light! I don’t want to be found spiritually asleep. I was born to be alive today and be a voice for this generation! (pray different part of these scripture to God)

Prayer is simply talking to God. Most students don’t have a problem talking, but when it comes to talking to God, we seem to run out of words. Why is that? It could be because we are talking to an invisible God. When we talk to a friend, we can see and hear them. When we talk to God, it can seem a little strange because the response from Him is very different than your friend.

God never intended for prayer to be a boring. Instead He designed it to be a way for us to communicate with Him. Have a opportunity to know His thoughts and giving Him an opportunity to respond to our prayers.

Read Matthew 6:5-15

This prayer that Jesus is talking about is “alone” prayer between you and God. He says to go into your room and shut the door. Meaning that God really wants to spend some alone time with you. When you are alone with God, it is easier not to get distracted. And when you pray he says not to “babble”. In other words speak from your heart. Even though God know everything about you, like a good father knowing about their own son or daughter, he still wants to hear from you about your own life.

Don’ t feel that you need to spend hours with God. God, our father, enjoys every minute with you in prayer. Here are some keys that can help fuel (or give you things to think about during prayer).

1.) After reading a chapter or verse ask God to help you understand it more and how can you apply what you just read into your life.
2.) You don’t have to speak every second. When you pray allow time of silence to meditate on the bible or just wait to see if you get a response from God.
3.) Talk to someone to help you stay committed on a time and place of prayer. I found in my life that when I just try to pray through out the day, I don’t really spend that intimate time with God.

There are many more way to fuel your prayer life, but try these for a start.

Why is it that people’s words about us carry so much weight? Have you ever walked away from a bad conversation and thought about it for days? Ever said something accidentally and hurt someone? Why can’t we easily forget what people say about us and why do people hold so much importance on what we say?

First of all, words carry so much weight because every word we say carries a spirit of life or death on it. I know what your saying “SPIRIT!”  It is funny how we believe that there is a God, angels, and even a devil, but we don’t want to believe that we can carry spirits on our words.

Let’s look at the bible:
Proverbs 18:21
²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue,�
   And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Death and life are not things to take lightly.  Did you know that when you speak negative words to people it can have an ill effect on them?  When was the last time you said “I can’t stand you!” Hopefully never, but if you have said this does the person listening return a smile and a hug?  Usually not, because when you say something it carries life or death (positives or negatives).

Just like you can say something negative you can say something positive.  Have you ever said the phrase “I love you” to someone who loves you? If you have this statement can create a uplifting moment because again life and death are in the power of words.

Proverbs 21:23
²³Whoever guards his mouth and tongue�
    Keeps his soul from trouble

Just like this scriputre says “Guard your mouth and tongue (words)”. When you guard your words you are THINKING BEFORE YOU SPEAK.  And like the old adage “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all“.

Prayer Moment:
Ask God to show you areas in your life where you can bring life and not death. Maybe the way you speak to your parents needs to change or even the way you talk about yourself needs to change.

Have you ever heard someone tell you that you should love God? There are a lot of things that people can make you do, but love is one thing that no one can force you to do. Even God being all powerful will not make you love. A question I get a lot is “How can I love God? I want to, but I don’t feel like I do.”

Let’s look at the bible for a moment:
1 John 4:19
¹⁹We love Him because He first loved us.

The Bible says that God first loved us. In the beginning God did create the whole world and He had you in mind. The crazy thing is that God knew when He created man and woman, they would betray Him because of our sinful nature. Still knowing this, He created us because of the great desire to love inside of Him.

The plan of the cross was a plan of love. Even though it was bloody and painful Jesus did it willingly because of love. God allowed His son to die a murderer’s death because of love. He is so desperately trying to get into our lives that even today when we hear the story of Jesus something deep inside of us says “Yes” to God.

Exodus 34:14
¹⁴(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God

His name is JEALOUS…Wow…Jealous for what?…YOU!
Our God is so desperate that He would name Himself Jealous God. Ever seen a jealous boyfriend? They begin to act strange when they feel threatened and even get emotionally hurt. Our God is so desperate that He would do just about anything to win your heart. He would go to the point of being vulnerable to share His heart and suffer the consequence of us rejecting Him.

Don’t get me wrong our God is no wimp. He is all powerful and He will destroy anything that gets in the way of you loving Him and Him loving you.

Nahum 1:2
²God is jealous, and the LORD avenges;
The LORD avenges and is furious.
The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.

What does that make you feel like? That the all powerful God is jealous for you? Even though you have weaknesses and you will make mistakes. God loves you deeply and wants to spend time with you. He will fight against anything standing in the way of your heart!

Prayer Moment:
Ask God to reveal His heart to you and ask Him to show you anything that is stealing away your love for Him.