Think Food!

This picture pretty much sums up the main idea behind fasting. What is it that you think about most? Not all, but a lot of us think about food constantly – what we will eat, where we will eat, and when we will eat it. There is nothing wrong with food – it is a gift from God, but what fasting does for the human heart is to keep in check the gift from becoming a god. It happens easily, quickly and often before we even realize that its taken place.

Its food for some, whereas for others it might be working out constantly in order to get the ‘perfect body.’ Still for others, it might be an obsession with the way they spend their time – TV, internet, movies, video games, or sleeping. Yes, sleeping can be an obsession. Sleeping is a gift from God in order for our bodies to rest and recover, but as stated above, has the gift become a god?

How do we know if the gift has become a god? Simple – what do you think about most? What consumes your thoughts more than anything is often the thing to which we will give ourselves.

If you are a follower of Jesus, then following Him should consume all of us. When Jesus said ‘love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength’ – He wasn’t kidding. How can I become more like Christ? How can I think more like Christ? Behave like Christ? These are all questions that we allow to permeate our minds through out the day in order that we might live out the answers.

When fasting, we communicate to God that ‘I Love you more than ______! (you fill in the blank) In fasting we tell God that I desire you more than __________! (fill in the blank) In fasting we tell God that He and not __________ (fill in the blank) is of supreme importance to us.

Fasting allows us to reorient and align our hearts, minds and bodies towards God, and not the things that often play the role of god in our lives.

One final warning from Jesus – “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:16-18

Fasting is not ‘extra credit.’ It might be impressive to others, but we cannot impress God with empty religious rituals. Don’t fast to get something from God – fast in order to express your love to God. The reward that Jesus talks about is not ‘an answer to prayer’, but the reward is God Himself – He is always the reward.

Practically speaking, when fasting from food, you are making the conscious decision not only to not eat food for an extended period of time, but to replace the time you would have had both in thought and time spent eating food, to connect with God in a significant and meaningful way. That’s why praying and fasting go hand in hand. When we fast from something, we are committing to direct the thoughts and time usually spent on something else towards praying about a specific request, or expressing gratitude to God for something.

For those who will be fasting and praying with the GENESIS community on Thursday, August 28th – please specifically be praying for God’s clear leading, provision and blessing on GENESIS becoming a church plant. Then, gather with the GENESIS community on Thursday evening in order to worship and pray together, and then declare the fast over by celebrating communion as a community.

Fasting is a way to draw the totality of your being towards God – so as you fast know that you’re not seeking to get something from God, except God Himself. Like the Psalmist declared: “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” Psalm 73:25-26 (NLT)

WORDS

WORDS - everyday all around us words are being exchanged. Some helpful, others hurtful while others are just meaningless banter. If you were to examine some of the conversations that you have been part of say over the past week, how many were meaningful? Meaningful being defined as conversations that left a lasting impact and brought about some semblance of change. If that's the case, then I'm guessing that a better contingent of us are lacking in the department of meaningful conversations. I guess the question that one must wrestle with is this - are WE talking about meaningful and significant things to those around us, or are we just hoping that someone else will say something meaningful?

This past week, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of some 'meaningful' conversations. But what made the conversation meaningful was not anything insightful or intrinsically intelligent that I had to offer, but what made the difference was the Gospel. If I did not believe in Jesus, I really wouldn't have much to offer. The reality is we all have something to offer, but is what we're offering humanity actually helpful, meaningful and significant? Outside of Jesus, I have nothing to say when it comes to purpose, meaning, significance, value and worth. Outside of Jesus, I have nothing to offer when it comes time to wrestle with some of life’s toughest questions. I have a lot to say about a lot of different things, but what really struck me this past weekend is that without Jesus in the conversation, ALL of my (self) perceived wisdom is not really all that wise. When talking with an agnostic, some Muslims and some people who were at best indifferent to spiritual things this past week, the only meaningful things that I had to say were because of Jesus.

People around you and I are dying for someone to stand up and say something meaningful. If you know Jesus – start talking. If you don’t know what to say, quote Jesus – His words always seemed to get a reaction out of people, and His words seem to have a had a meaningful impact on people over the past 2,000 years. They have on me at least!