Fasting Round 2

If you are fasting with us today read the previous blog entry for some instructions. Be aware of others who are fasting and our church. This partly an exercise of deciding who is boss in your life, your stomach or you. Jesus said, you can't serve two masters... So, this is about mastering your urges and deciding that God is going to be your master. Fasting takes practice just like any other discipline. Each time fast you will discover how to make it more meaningful. Take some time to pray, or slow down or find some time to read scripture. Feed on God's word.

If you have a medical condition that prevents you from fasting with out food you can modify your fast to make it safe.

Some may think fasting is not an discipline encouraged by the Reformed faith. Yet, John Calvin writes extensively on the practice of fasting. Here is an excerpt from "The Institutes of Christian Religion" by Calvin.

Let us now consider the purpose of fasting. Various designs are mentioned in Scripture. The first end in fasting is the denying of self, the bringing of our body and its lusts in subjection unto the will and Word of God. Said the Psalmist, "I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach" (Ps. 69:10). Before men, yes; but not so before God. Our Lord warned us, "Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness" (Luke 21:34). The body is made heavy, its senses dulled, and the mind rendered sluggish by much eating or drinking, and thereby the whole man becomes unfit for the duties of prayer and hearing of the Word. That this unfitness may be avoided and that the lusts of the flesh may be mortified and subdued, fasting is to be duly engaged in.

The second end of fasting is to stir up our devotions and to confirm our minds in the duties of hearing and prayer. In this connection it is to be duly noted that fasting and prayer are almost always linked together in the Scriptures, or it would be more correct to say "prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21; Acts 13:3 and 14:23) to intimate that the latter is designed as an aid to the former, chiefly in that the non-preparation and participation of meals leaves us the freer for uninterrupted communion with God. When the stomach is full, the body and mind are less qualified for the performance of spiritual duties. For this reason we are told Anna "served God with fastings and prayers," the design of the Holy Spirit being to commend her to our notice for the fervency of her spirit, which she evidenced in this manner.


Tomorrow morning you can break the fast with break-fast. (that is where the word comes from)

Blessings!

Here is something to chew on.

Fasting

Today is a day of fasting! Jesus said, "When you fast..." which I take to mean that fasting is a given. So if you have never fasted before here is an opportunity. What is the point of fasting? It has several purposes but the probably the main point is to draw us closer to God and to God's kingdom. Our bodies react violently to even the suggestion of fasting which raises the question, "who is in charge?" You? Or your stomach? There is something about fasting that opens us to a clearer sense of reality - especially the reality of the divine.

Here is my plan for today. I am going to eat a normal breakfast and then skip lunch and dinner and then eat a normal breakfast tomorrow. If muslims can fast from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan I can do something similar for one day! Actually, it is not the extravagant sacrifice that we probably should make but it is a start.

Drink lots of fluids.
Carry a small bible around and open it up whenever you feel hungry. I suggest reading the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7.
Pray - specifically that God will bless our church to over flowing!
Pay attention to your experience.
Let me know if you fasting today and leave a comment on this blog. It will be an encouragement to others!
Now check out this video. I am not sure how this helps.

Jesus and the Bloody Ole Testament

Last Monday we had our first theology class at church. We had some very stimulating conversation and consequently it was a challenge to stay on topic. Part of our discussion ventured into questions about the Old Testament. You may be able to predict the issues:

Why was God so mean?
Why so much blood?
Why kill animals?
Why did God command the Israelites to wipe out whole communities?

The view many christians hold is that they like Jesus but hate the Old Testament.

The result: We avoid the Old Testament altogether.

What most people don't realize is that this kind of thinking creates more conflicts than resolve.

We like or even love Jesus but hate the Old Testament.

What we need to remember is that the Old Testament was Jesus' Bible. He loved it. He memorized it. He quoted it. He said things like:

Don't think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17

The Law was the meat of the Old Testament. Jesus was honoring it by making it complete.

So ask yourself these questions:

"If Jesus loved the Old Testament then what guage inside me allows me to think differently of Hebrew scripture?"
"Do I have some greater knowledge than Jesus that gives me a more informed and sophisticated perspective?"

Most people would agree that they are not better, or wiser, or even more loving than Jesus. So, if that is case and we respect Jesus then it is vital to our own faith that we embrace the Old Testament just as Jesus did. The important question then becomes:

How do I see the bloody Old Testament from Jesus' perspective?

It starts with your posture towards scripture. If you stand over and above scripture it is easy to feel superior to it. But if you treat as God's Word then it begins to form you. This approach requires a great deal of humility. When we don't understand a story or message that the Bible is trying to communicate our simple prayer should be:

"Lord, help me understand your Word, I am struggling and this passage disturbs me. Please help me understand what I am missing!"

Sometimes it takes persistence and study. Sometimes you won't ever know a satisfying answer. But more often than not, you will be rewarded with understanding that transforms your worldview.

My point is this:
Seek to see the Old Testament through Jesus' eyes and you will be pleasantly surprised. Seek it on your own and you will always be limited in what you see.

Join us on Monday night at 7:00 for WUD Theology 101.

Now for something fun. Here is another fake Jesus video from Vintage21. Remember it is not about the rules. Jesus wants to go beyond the rules to change our hearts!