January 29, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
"They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, 'Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for His people?'" Psalm 78:18-20We are a wilderness people. If the story of Israel is any indication, we, the new Israel, can be assured that, following on the heels of God's salvific action, we become campers. Wilderness dwellers. In the pages of Scripture, the wilderness is not only a thick, mossy forest with towering trees or a sandy desert with oppressively hot days followed by frigid, windy nights. It is also a controlling metaphor for a barren, in-between place of trial. Thankfully, the wilderness is also an ideal setting for God's presence and provision
January 28, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Our world exists in tension. The public square and our personal experience testify to this every day, reminding us that the world is at once the product of a benevolent, creator God AND the consequence of His rebellious creatures. One of the ways that we feel this tension is that we receive the world as a composite of hungers, thirsts, and desires, each of which can draw us to, or away from, the living God. For this reason, whenever the people of God mobilize in prayer and fasting, we do nothing less than invite God to do Gospel work by bringing about the death and resurrection of hunger, both in and around us.Scripture gives us a window into this reality through Jesus' own teaching regarding hunger. In John's Gospel, he promises that "whoever comes to me shall not hunger" (John 6:35). However, in Matthew's Gospel, he promises satisfaction to "those who hunger and thirst" (Matthew 5:6). Herein lies another tension. Jesus commends both the absence and presence of hunger. But, how do we resolve this?
January 27, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Perhaps you've heard the following statement spoken by a Christian leader at some point in your Christian journey. I certainly have heard it many times through the years, yet sadly it belies a misunderstanding of God and our relationship with Him. Having a fuller understanding of the dynamics of our relationship with God yields enormous spiritual benefits. The statement you have probably heard many times:"There is nothing you can do to make God more pleased with you than He already is with you right now."
On the surface, there is an attractive quality to this statement because it affirms so strongly the love of God, as well as the pleasure He has over Christians because of Jesus' sacrificial death. Yet, a more careful examination of the statement reveals its incompleteness. Take a look at
January 26, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
If you are anything like me, you often pray for strength. You know that you need God's power in your life. Whether facing an ordinary task or a particularly heavy burden, you probably ask God quite often for the strength to accomplish the things He has called you to do. And we can ask God for strength because He is the source of all strength and power, and He promises to give strength to His people. Psalm 10:17 reads, "O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart..." and Psalm 29:1 and 11: "Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength ... May the Lord give strength to His people!"Now as a Christian, the source of your strength is God - and all that God promises to be for you through Jesus Christ and the Gospel. We continually
January 25, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Cambridge theologian William Inge (1860–1954) famously quipped, "all of nature is a conjugation of the verb to eat, in the active and passive." Inge's characterization of eating as an overarching touchstone suffuses narratives of family, tradition, and place with remembrances of love, loss, and celebration. Potlucks and campfire s'mores, wedding and birthday cakes, funeral and Eucharist suppers frame the ever-changing seasons of life.Similarly, Norman Wirzba's Food & Faith: A Theology of Eating highlights the proper balance of feasting and fasting: "People should feast so they do not forget the grace and blessing of the world. People should fast so they do not degrade or hoard the good gifts of God. In short, we feast to glorify God and we fast so we do not glorify ourselves" (p. 137).
This intentional juxtaposition of feasting and fasting surfaces
January 24, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
"I humbled my soul with fasting."-King David (Psalm 69:10)
As King David implied, fasting is a time for us to humble ourselves before the Lord, whereby we can set aside all confidence that we have in our flesh and rightly confess to Him – and to ourselves – the severity of our spiritual depravity.
Upon entering this fast, we prepared for the sins hidden within us – jealousy, bitterness, anxiety, fear, and the like – to enter the forefront of our minds and hearts. As we discussed, God uses fasting to show us
January 23, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
There are a number of times in the gospels that Jesus talks about food, but often it is in ways that you might not expect. Consider three examples:In John 6, we find a conversation Jesus had with a crowd that was following him after he multiplied fish and bread. He said to them:
"For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty."
- John 6:33-35
According to Jesus, the Son of God
January 22, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Something about fasting causes humility to mark our walks with God and our experience before Him. We rediscover that we are created ones, subject to a Creator, and we are sinful beings prone to complain. Though we may posture and protest, our need for sustenance and grace is inescapable when we fast. Our physical needs make manifest our utter dependence in every way on the only One who satisfies our every need. This precious truth should compel us to turn to our faithful God and submit ourselves to His call to walk in holiness.One of the most beautiful examples of humility and God’s steadfast love is the story of the prophet Hosea.
January 21, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." – Colossians 4:2 (NIV)"Prayer is the easiest and hardest of all things; the simplest and the sublimest; the weakest and the most powerful; its results lie outside the range of human possibilities—they are limited only by the omnipotence of God." – E. M. Bounds
Frequent and fervent prayer is an essential part of our relationship with God. It is the natural product of genuine faith in God and His promise that He will hear and answer us. Though the practice of prayer is simple enough for a child to perform, prayer is also a complex discipline in which every Christian continues to grow and develop throughout life. Just as Jesus' disciples, we all continue to cry out "Lord, teach us to pray." It is a prayer that God loves to answer
January 20, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
"Conditional grace is nearly unintelligible to many contemporary Christians who assume that unconditionality is the essence of all grace." - John Piper, Future GraceProbably nothing hinders the Western church more than a theological misunderstanding of grace. God has poured out on humanity extraordinary unconditional grace such as the gift of life, and the offer of salvation. However, as Piper discusses at length in his book, Future Grace, more grace from God is available
January 19, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
There are moments in our lives when ultimate matters become remarkably clear. Like far-sighted eyes that suddenly receive corrective lenses, our ability to make sense of the priorities of life crystalizes, and we recognize the nuances of existence. We see the purposes for which we live and the relationship for which we were created. The Psalmist enjoyed this type of detailed clarity on the occasion of the writing of Psalm 84:For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the
House of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
In that inspired moment, the Psalmist determined that his life's priority, regardless of the allurements surrounding him, was existence lived in the atmosphere of God's presence. He would be willing to forgo fleeting pleasures surrounding him in order to experience the glorious, fulfilling reality
January 18, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Often times when I'm seeking to encourage a fellow sinner-sufferer I ask, "What am I doing or saying that is distracting them from Jesus?" The only worthy encouragement I can ever offer comes from Jesus and the Good News. I also know that if people see me instead of Jesus, hope given will be short-lived. This has led me to wonder how I distract even myself and stray from my relationship with Him. I began thinking about the balance between enjoying God's gifts to us on earth versus indulging in them to the point of gluttony and distraction from Jesus ... like TV, coffee, spending, community, food, sleep, being healthy, working, alcohol, children, or even learning.Where am I choosing apostasy in certain areas because it's more comfortable than being changed by the Spirit of God?
Where does my flesh dictate
January 17, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Search me, O God, and know my heart!Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
-Psalm 139:23-24
I am convinced that one of the primary reasons many of us struggle to draw near to God in an earnest, deeper way is because we know that such a pursuit may initially involve a painful, even excruciating encounter. What misbehaving child seeks out the offended authority figure? How many of us avoid prescribed medical exams and precautionary procedures not only because of the dread of discomfort or humiliation, but also for fear of what the good doctor may find?
Yet to properly seek God requires that we consistently wade through the proverbial muck and mire to truly come clean. The saints of old in the Roman Catholic Jesuit tradition called this kind of daily reflection the Prayer of Examen and various forms of this spiritual exercise remain today[1]. The Latin word means the examining or discerning of conscience, conveying the idea of our ongoing need for an accurate assessment of the true condition of our soul.
Richard Foster, in his attempt to exhume this practice, describes what we might call the ditches on either side of the path
January 17, 2014
Share. Encourage Others. Be Encouraged. Praise God.
Throughout this initiative, we have asked God to move in the lives of those who participate.If you have participated in a 40 Day Initiative, or are participating in this current season, please let us know what you have learned, how you have grown (or been challenged), and what God has done during or as a result of your fast.
Please note: to comment, you'll have to log in using either one of your social media accounts or by creating a free (very simple to create) account with Disqus. This helps guarantee that posts are legitimate.
January 16, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Colossians 3:1-4 "If then you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."In Colossians 3, the apostle Paul reminds his audience of what God has already done for them in Christ. They have died with Christ to both the penalty and power of sin, and likewise they participate in Jesus' own resurrection life through the indwelling of the Spirit. The old has been done away with; the new creation has arrived!
Yet Paul does not stop there, with the mere announcement of what the Gospel has accomplished objectively for the people of God. He transitions
January 15, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
As we begin our season of fasting together, I want to remind us of God's purpose for us through fasting. Listen to Jesus' words in Mark 7:15 to hear God's purpose for us through fasting: "Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. If anyone has an ear to hear, he should listen!" In verses 20-23, Jesus continues to explain this mystery to His disciples by saying: "...What comes out of a person—that defiles him. For from within, out of people's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, lewdness, stinginess, blasphemy, pride and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a person." In our text today, the core problem of defilement is defined as what resides in the heart (things that come out), not things going into a person. Throughout Scripture, the heart refers to the center of one's being, including the mind, emotions, and will.
As you may already know, fasting, in and of itself, is not pretty. It is uncomfortable, it is
January 14, 2014
A Prayer and Fasting Devotional
Malachi 3:13-18
"Your words have been hard against me,” says the LORD. “But you say, 'How have we spoken against you?' 14 You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.'"16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.”
The prophet Malachi records that God’s people were questioning whether it was really worthwhile to serve the Lord. Life was hard
January 13, 2014
Devotion
Matthew 26:51-54
51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?"
When the religious leaders came to arrest Jesus, Peter grabbed a sword in defense of his master,
January 12, 2014
January 10, 2014
