fasting

The God Who Gives and Takes Away

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“Oh Lord our God, before we ask anything from your hands, we desire to praise and magnify your name; for you are good in yourself, and in all your thoughts, and all your acts, and in all that you do toward us. You are good when you lay us low, when the bed of sickness becomes hard, and our bones are weary. You are good when you strip us of all earthly comforts; good when we stand at the grave’s mouth and bury our dearest love. You are good in everything. Shall we not bless the God who takes, as well as the God who gives? We would not follow you as a dog follows a stranger for a bone; but we would love you as loving children, who love even a chastising Father and have learned to say, “Though he slay me yet will I trust in him.” If ever, even for a moment, the thought of complaint should flit across our spirit, we beg to be forgiven.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

I heard about a panel of godly leaders who were leading a conference. Someone in the crowd asked the question of all questions — how would they define Christianity in one word.

They huddled together for a bit before coming up with the answer. What they came up with is probably not what I would have come up with but it certainly makes more and more sense as I think about it.

The one word for Christianity is wilderness. Mind blown.

That certainly does seem to sum up our experience this side of heaven. While there are moments and seasons of blessing and joy, there is so much that is just plain wrong. So much is broken and distorted in this post-sin world. So much hate, disease, hunger, suffering, war, pain, and death.

The more I see, the more I pray the last verse of the Bible. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

The world only seems to get weirder and crazier and harder to figure out as I get older. There seems to be less holding me here as so many people I love have passed away and so much of what I have known is fading away. But I know the story’s not ending just yet.

The wilderness is definitely not a prime vacation spot. But it is a place for testing and preparation. Think of Moses spending 40 years in the wilderness. Think of those Israelites wandering around in the desert for the next 40 years. Think of Jesus fasting 40 days in the wilderness.

The wilderness is God’s school for growing up up and making us more like Jesus. It’s where God shows up in burning bushes and pillars of fire and in a very hungry and thirsty yet very obedient Messiah. It’s where we learn the most intimate name of God – YHWH – and learn to speak with God face to face as a man speaks with his friend.

God, help us to remain steadfast wherever we are, whether in the valley or the mountaintop, in harvest or in the wilderness. God, be present to us wherever we are so that we will always know the way to go and who is leading us.

A Week Into Lent

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It’s only been a week– well, six days if you want to be picky– since I started my social media fast for Lent. I already feel so far out of the loop when it comes to being informed about who’s getting hitched and popping out babies (or to put it in a more genteel way, who’s getting engaged, married, and pregnant).

I’ve also had six days without any posts about how Trump is the devil incarnate and the enemy to all that is true and good in the world. That’s been nice.

The purpose of Lent isn’t just to give up stuff. The point of fasting is to make time and room in your heart and in your life for God. It’s to heighten your senses so that you become more attuned to His voice.

Or in my case, I’ve made more room for Netflix and reading.

Lent is a season to prepare your heart for Easter. It’s when you move beyond Easter bunnies and Cadbury chocolate eggs to a Savior rising victoriously from the grave after three days in the tomb.

My goal is still to have time to be silent and still in the presence of God. I still want to savor the season leading up to Easter and use this as a time of refreshment and replenishing.

Right now, I’m listening to my geriatric cat snoring as I type these words. That will never ever get old, just like knowing I have a faithful legion of followers who read those words. I’ll keep on writing these blog posts as long as you keep reading them.

I’d still love to meet up with some of you for coffee and conversation. My treat.

 

 

Going Home

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winding road

“Going home is a lifelong journey. There are always parts of ourselves that wander off in dissipation or get stuck in resentment. Before we know it we are lost in lustful fantasies or angry ruminations. Our night dreams and daydreams often remind us of our lostness.

Spiritual disciplines such as praying, fasting and caring are ways to help us return home. As we walk home we often realise how long the way is. But let us not be discouraged. Jesus walks with us and speaks to us on the road. When we listen carefully we discover that we are already home while on the way” (Henri Nouwen).

That’s what really matters in the end.

I’m headed toward my real home and Jesus is the one who’ll help me get there.

This journey is where Jesus walks with us and speaks to us. In fact, Jesus Himself said that knowing Him is the journey. He said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

He didn’t say that He knew the way.

He didn’t even say that He was an expert in the knowledge about the way.

He said He is THE way.

There is no other way because no other god ever took on human flesh and became one of us. No other god willingly laid down his life for us in order that we might escape the punishment we deserved.

Sometimes, the way seems long and hard. Many of us sometimes feel like we will never get to the place we want to be or become the persons we feel we should have been all along.

Rest easy, my friends.

Jesus promised that even though the road was narrow and few find it, He would be there.

Jesus promised that His yoke would be easy and His burden light.

Jesus promised that He would finish that great work He started in you.

He promised to never leave or forsake you.

When Jesus is with you, you truly are already home while you’re on the road home.

 

A Few Weeks Late (But Still Worthwhile)

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I am posting an old homily by John Chrysostom that is traditionally read aloud in many Orthodox churches on Easter Sunday morning. What’s that you say? Easter is over? Yes, it is, but the sentiment and the reality are just as true the other 364 days of the year. So, without further ado:

“If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let them enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival.

If anyone is a grateful servant, let them, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord.

If anyone has wearied themselves in fasting, let them now receive recompense.

If anyone has labored from the first hour, let them today receive the just reward.

If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let them feast.

If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let them have no misgivings; for they shall suffer no loss.

If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let them draw near without hesitation.

If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let them not fear on account of tardiness.

For the Master is gracious and receives the last even as the first; He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has labored from the first.

He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one He gives, and to the other He is gracious.

He both honors the work and praises the intention.

Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord, and, whether first or last, receive your reward.

O rich and poor, one with another, dance for joy!

O you ascetics and you negligent, celebrate the day!

You that have fasted and you that have disregarded the fast, rejoice today!

The table is rich-laden: feast royally, all of you!

The calf is fatted: let no one go forth hungry!

Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness.

Let no one lament their poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn their transgressions, for pardon has dawned from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Saviour’s death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it!

He descended into Hades and took Hades captive!

He embittered it when it tasted His flesh! And anticipating this, Isaiah exclaimed: ‘Hades was embittered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions.’

It was embittered, for it was abolished!

It was embittered, for it was mocked!

It was embittered, for it was purged!

It was embittered, for it was despoiled!

It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

It took a body and came upon God!

It took earth and encountered heaven!

It took what it saw, but crumbled before what can not seen!

O death, where is thy sting?

O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen, and life reigns!

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!

For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the first-fruits of them that have slept.

To Him be glory and might unto the ages of ages.

Amen.”

Parable of the Good Person

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image

Once upon a time there was a good person. Or at least he thought so.

He determined in his own mind to set out on a quest to find inner peace and began the arduous journey toward his goal.

He chanted, he fasted, he burned incense, he meditated, and he prayed. He went on pilgrimages. He gave up red meat and gluten. Later, he became a vegan, even though he loved him some steak and potatoes.

He helped old ladies across the street and rescued kittens from trees and paid his taxes like a good citizen. He even volunteered at the library.

But no matter how much he did, it never felt like enough. He never could seem to fund that elusive peace he was so desperately seeking.

Then he had an epiphany. He realized he was not a good person. He understood that he was fundamentally flawed and broken person whose good intentions never hit their marks.

He discovered that there is only One who is good, One who once came down to live among people just like him. One who did everything right and lived the perfect life that this good person could not.

He grasped that this One, Jesus, had died for him not when he was a good person, but when he was at his worst, when he was against everything Jesus stood for.

He called out to this Jesus and asked Him to save him and do for him what he could never do for himself. He confessed that he was really and truly a not-good person.

Now he has peace. He still has bad days and even bad weeks. He still has good intentions that fall short. He can even be grumpy at times. But he also has Jesus.

And that is enough.

How much do I love Jesus?

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The topic at tonight’s Kairos Roots was fasting and how we are commanded to fast from food, media, etc. Basically anything that creeps in and starts taking priority over God in our lives. We fast for God’s direction and guidance, when we are mourning, when we are embarking on a new venture, and when we want to hear from God more clearly.

I remember something I read from John Piper that says in essence that fasting says, “This much, O God, I desire You.” More than the food I’m not eating. More than the facebook that I am not logging into. More than the TV or radio I am leaving turned off.

But how much do I really love Jesus if all these things take priority over him? I will confess that I have days that I have very good intentions to read my Bible. . . . . after this episode of Friends. After I’m done checking everything out on Facebook. After I post this blog. The funny thing is that I never actually get around to reading my Bible. Sadly, some days I forget I even intended to read it.

That says that Jesus is not my first love. All these other things rank ahead of Him in my life.

Maybe fasting is a way of saying: I love you Jesus more than these things I am giving up. I am making an effort to love You, because love is ultimately not a feeling, but an act of the will. Through Your grace, I am demonstrating love put into practice and praying that this will increase my love for You.

I do know this. Jesus is worthy of my fasting and so much more. He is worthy of everything I have to give and a million times more. When I see things right, I am so very grateful that what really counts is not how much I love Jesus, but how much He loves me and how that Love is changing me to be like Jesus.

Amen and amen.

A Church Without Walls (Part 2)

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I see a church where we will not be afraid to stand up and declare that Jesus is Lord, that there is no other God but Yahweh, and that there is no other way to heaven but through Jesus Christ. I see a church who instead of condemning sinners, will cry out to God and repent of our lack of love and take the blame for what is wrong with our culture. I see a church who will not just give out of her excess, but will sacrifice to meet the needs of those hurting and needy. I see a church where our worship costs us something and we like David proclaim, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost me nothing.”

I see a church where it is not about being right, but about giving up your rights. Where we will turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile and keep our word even when it hurts. I see a church who tries to match their lifestyle with what they profess with their lips. I see a church where we stop pretending to be perfect people who have it all together and are so much better than everyone else. Where we admit to being broken and helpless without Jesus and to admitting that the only difference between us and the worst sinner is the grace of God at work in us.

I see a church who is not selling out to a political party or a form of government or a way of life, but who are citizens of a kingdom where the King is Jesus. Where not political might, but the power of prayer and fasting will bring about lasting change.

I see that church and as much as I want that, I have to be the first one to change. Better yet, I need to seek after a transformed heart, God’s own heart, inside me.

As always, I believe. Help my unbelief.