June 11: Christ Our Example

We should model Christ’s example when fasting. When He was on earth, He had God’s anointing to meet people’s needs, but He still needed to fast. The Bible says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.” (Luke 4: 1-2, 13-14).

The Holy Spirit had come upon Jesus when He was baptized. (See Luke 3: 21-22). Yet after fasting, He returned, “In the power of the Spirit.” Jesus receive the Holy Spirit after He fasted, but the Spirit within Him was manifested with new power. Although you receive the Holy Spirit when you were born again, fasting ignites the power within you; you develop a hunger for intimacy with God, and the work of the Holy Spirit is manifested in your life. Witnessing about God’s love and grace gives you joy, and you serve God in ways you never expected.

Soon after His forty-day fast, Jesus encountered a demon-possessed man. When you fast, God allows you to experience some challenges because you are ready to handle them [now] through the Holy Spirit. There are people to whom God wants you to minister, but they won’t cross your path until you’re equipped to help them. Fasting prepares you for service to God through humans, the Bible calls them, your neighbors (Ministry). Note: A fast ignites the power of the Spirit within you. Fasting prepares, empowers and equips you for ministry.

Let’s pray: Father, thank You for teaching me about the power that accompanies fasting. Please, Lord, equip me for ministry as I consecrate myself to You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s reading: Ezra 1-2; John 19:23-42

Jesus is Our Model.