Hit it Out

For those of you that are fasting today, and in the Wednesdays to come, I want to give you a piece of advice for lunch time.... It is going to be glaringly obvious at lunch time that something is different. Many will say, "where is your lunch?" or, "why are you not eating?" And you can pull a Peter... You can come up with a reason or an excuse so that way you aren't labeled 'one of those people.' That is my default. I don't want to be labeled a "crazy Christian."

Or you can go over the top. You can say too much too fast.... this generally leaves people thinking about you and other Christians, 'don't cram your Jesus down my throat' or 'you think you're so much better than anyone else, you religious twit.' So option 2 is bogus because you may be having a great experience with the fast but you are turning people away from Christ.

There is a third way... When people ask you why you are not eating, you can give them a simple answer about fasting. This might lead them to be interested in why. When they ask more questions imagine that God is lobbing you a softball. So, crank it out of the park. Explain to them why Christians fast. Do it gently and slowly so that they actually understand what you are saying.

Many people fail because they don't have a plan... so pray that you would be ready. "In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). So when the questions start coming today... be ready.

Let me give you a couple of thoughts on fasting so that you can meditate on them all day today:

“More than any other discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside of us with food and other things.” -Richard Foster in The Celebration of Discipline

"I humbled my soul with fasting" (Psalm 31:13)

"It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world." -John Piper in A Hunger for God pg. 14

Manipulation: Fasting

I just wanted to clarify something about fasting. It needs to be said that fasting is not manipulation. When many Christians fast their goal is off. When you fast the aim is not to manipulate God to either answer your question or give you favor. That is works friends. Read Galatians and you can see that works is not only the opposite of the gospel, it should be cursed (Galatians 1:9). Works is where you do something for God and He in turn rewards you. It is a tit for tat. You do one thing and so God is obliged to return the favor. This is the opposite of the gospel. Unfortunately, humans (even saved Christians) have a tendency to perform works righteousness.

We have a hard time with grace; A very very hard time with grace. The sayings, 'there is no free lunch' or, ' nothing in life is free,' teach us that grace is not real. So, even though the bible says we are saved by grace and we are perfected by grace, we still try to earn God's favor. "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to obtain your goal by human effort?" (Galatians 3:3). Fasting, along with any other spiritual discipline, can become your method of impressing God or manipulating Him to get what you want. So please be careful when you fast. Check your heart to see if you are earning God's favor. Remember the goal is nearness to God. The goal is not to convince God to do your plan.

Always remember when you fast that God is not obligated to answer your request. David didn't see his child live when he fasted and prayed for three days (2 Sam 12) and the disciples haven't seen Jesus return when they fast (Luke 5:35). Does that mean that those fasts failed? Nope! Because the goal of fasting is nearness to God not manipulation. So when you fast, which you should, let God be your aim. Not success, or revelation, or answers, or anything else, just God. God we want You more than we want to know your will for our lives. We want you more than we want your favor on our lives and ministry. You are our desire. We fast so that we can have more of You!

Thoughts on Fasting

Let me just say that there are many others who can talk about this topic more authoritatively than I can. I am a newbie, a rookie, a novice when it comes to fasting. So, take my advise as only advise. That being said, there is much to gain from the discipline of fasting. If you are embarking on a fast then you are beginning a great and God centered task that will reward you greatly.

First, it should be said that fasting is both biblical and Christian. It is biblical in that the bible lays out the foundations for fasting, it actually declares that followers of Christ will fast, and it is the ultimate authority on fasting. The bible teaches that, "man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Duet 8:3; cf Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4). It is also Christian because the bible teaches that Christians have certain freedoms yet it is better to refrain from some freedoms to help others and even yourself (1 Cor 10).

So what is fasting? Technically fasting is abstaining from food in order to gain nearness to God. It needs to be said that the goal is to obtain nearness to God. Fasting is not a diet. Fasting is not saving money by not eating so you can spend your money on other things. I had a friend who told me he was going to fast on the way back from a ministry trip so he could buy fireworks. That is missing the point of fasting. The aim of Christian fasting is to obtain God, not fireworks, or a skinny beach body, or anything else. We want to know Christ and we will sacrifice to obtain more of him. That is the essence of fasting.

Now for the form: The bible lays out many types of fasts. Many individuals in the bible including Jesus fast from food and water. But, sometimes the fast is from choice foods but still includes eating (Daniel 10). Or sometimes fasting is eating a particular diet of veggies and water (Daniel 1:12). The length and content of fasting varies in the bible. So it would be wrong to say a fast is only fasting totally from food and for a particular amount of time.

The content: I think it is right that you can fast from much more than food. I have heard missionary work referred to as the fasting from earthly comforts to obtain an eternal satisfaction in Christ[1]. The content really is a choice not to partake in something that we have liberty to use so that you can obtain nearness to God.

This leads me to say that we should at times fast from, not only food, but other things that we indulge in. Sometimes I need to fast from the Internet or from reading books. I need to refrain from things that I have the right and liberty to use and enjoy so that I can get closer to God. We all should do the same, whether it is facebook, or TV, or even a significant other, sometimes your Christian discipleship calls for sacrifice to obtain a greater thing.... God.

A great question that was brought up after youth group was 'what do I do with my new time?' For instance if I read a lot and I am fasting from reading would it be ok to watch a little TV during that time? The answer is "yes, but..." Fasting should never be legalistic. You can set up plans and guidelines but to break those plans or guidelines is not the end of the world. So to give something up and use some time to do something different is ok, but it would be far better to gain what you are setting out to get. When you want to fast the goal is to obtain God. You can maybe meet God through your TV watching but how much better could you obtain nearness to Him through an undistracted time with Him?

So when you fast make it your ambition to get to God. Use the time that you have gained to go to God. That is the true essence of fasting. That is why fasting from food is so beneficial. Your tummy tells you that you need food, then you have the opportunity to tell your tummy that you need God more than you need food. It is a constant reminder. It always points you back to the essence of fasting. You need and want food but you have the opportunity to say "I need and want God more than food."

Which leads me to say try fasting from food! It will reward you greatly. It will show you how much trust you put in food and how often you do not even think twice that God has given you life and breath and food. On mission trips I noticed that those in poverty were so close to God and that is partly due to the imposed fast on them. They are without food so they constantly pray that God would be their portion. We on the other hand have so much food crammed down our throats that we never pray that God would sustain us or be our portion. We are at a huge disadvantage unless we fast.

Christians, please please fast! It will help you to realign your priorities and to let God be your portion. How much greater the reward of having Christ than a full belly!?

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[1] Missions as Fasting by Michael Oh

Acts 13: Worship, Prayer, and Fasting The Road to Greatness

What is your take on prayer? Francis Chan, Pastor and author, says of his staff, "if you're not praying at least one hour a day, let me know and I'll find someone else who will." What if you spent an hour in undistracted prayer each day? Would that be a waste of time? For the rest of the world this sort of 'inactivity' would be considered a waste... but for the Christian there is nothing more essential and more productive than sitting at the mercy seat.

Prayer is the power horse of the Christian life. That's what was happening in Acts 13. "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting... after they fasted and prayed, [the believers] placed their hands on [Paul and Silas] and sent them off" (Acts 13:1-3). So we see a few things happening that led to their send off. First, they were worshiping. They were gathered together praising God. Secondly, they were fasting. Fasting is a purposeful refusal of something to get something greater. Fasting is a forsaking of things to gain a supremely valuable thing... Christ. And they prayed. I can't imagine this being a canned prayer. I bet there were tears. I bet there was meditation. I bet there was guidance and direction from on high. 

Those were the precursors to the greatest missionaries being sent out. Worship, praying, and fasting led to 14 of the most productive years in history where Paul was preaching Christ crucified to as many as possible so that he might win as many as possible. This little paragraph in the bible is the beginning of a send off, it is the fire that sparked in the heart of my hero the Apostle Paul. And, the result of these few lines in the text is a colossal life of suffering, rejoicing, ministry, and the gospel. 

Do not neglect these items: worship, fasting, and prayer. It is through these things that God might be enlisting you to greatness. And it is by these things that you might recieve training and equipping for a service you can't perform on your own.

Luke 2 -Pray More

In verses 36-38 I was struck with awe at the account of Anna... Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and to make the appropriate sacrifices. During this trip they meet a couple of interesting characters. One is a man called Simeon who was righteous and devout and God had revealed to him that he would see the Christ before he died. Moved by the Spirit Simeon went and saw Jesus and said many incredible things about the child. Which is an awesome story but I want to focus on the second encounter. They met a woman named Anna who was a prophetess. Anna "spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." (vs 38)

I know that most people would be completely overwhelmed at the sight of God as a baby. I am sure the Spirit would cause such a deep sense of wonder as you look at the Creator of the universe wrapped in clothes and in the arms of a mere human?! But, I think there is something special about Anna. The Bible says that she lived with her husband for 7 years, then he passed and she was a widow until age 84. In verse 37 we see what kind of amazing woman Anna is when it says, "she never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying." That line right there rocked me this morning. Does the bible really mean that Anna was always praising God? Always fasting and praying? For months? For years? Until she was 84? YEP. Anna was a prophetess that was after God's heart. She dedicated herself to worship, praying, fasting. She was just looking after the ways of God. I am extremely encouraged by Anna. Because when you see someone else living that way it gives you no excuse. If I told you that you should always pray, always fast, always worship, you might respond saying, "that is unrealistic, no one does that!?" But when scripture gives us an example of someone that took God that seriously, we are without excuse. I am convinced that I need to be praying more. That I need to be on my face before God begging for you and your future. That I need to be at the temple day and night asking God that He would work in the hearts and minds of the students and leaders of CSM. I am without excuse, Anna did it, so should I. Prayer is powerful and effective. Let's do it more.

Take 2- I Want Jesus More Than a Full Belly

Do you ever say something like a bonehead and then 5 minutes later or even immediately after saying it, you realize what you should have said? I had that happen recently. I was fasting and someone asked me, "why are you fasting?" They were wondering if there was a specific reason? Like some people fast for direction, some fast for breakthrough, my reason; "just 'cause." What a stupid response. I blurted out, "just 'cause." Then immediately after I thought in my noggin, "that is not why I am fasting. I am actually fasting because I want Jesus more than I want food. I want to know him intimately and I want to cast everything off that hinders me from knowing him more." I wish I would have said that instead of, "just 'cause." Hindsight is precious.