Archive for fasting
Thirsting for God
Posted by: | CommentsMany times I find myself reading in the Psalms, and many times I find “myself” in the Psalms. Their beauty leads me to do what they themselves often recommend. Selah. Pause and think about it. Layers and layers of truth and richness. The entire range of human emotions. The entirety of the Psalms including the Psalms of David express a true picture of humanness. Love and hate. Joy and grief. Praise and cursing. Ah, David, a man after God’s own heart, unafraid to feel and express his heart.
One of my favorites is Psalm 42, a Psalm written to describe one’s yearning for God in the middle of distress. The depth and truth of the Psalmist’s longing resonates within my heart.
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
The picture is of a mature deer, not a Bambi, a powerfully beautiful animal thirsting, longing for running, moving, living water. And then the Psalmist declares, “God, that is how I long for you! My soul, my inner being, my emotions, long for an encounter with a living God.”
Maybe there are two ways we learn about thirst. One is by natural processes of our humanness. We need water to live and thrive. Secondly, once we experience the power of having our thirst satisfied, we are forevermore dissatisfied with any other experience.
Why Fast?
Posted by: | CommentsAs we end our first week of this season of fasting, it is a good time to reexamine why we are fasting and what happens during a fast.
We are fasting because we feel led to by the Holy Spirit.
We are fasting as a voluntary means of submitting ourselves to the purifying work of God through his Holy Spirit believing that fasting can bring to light matters of the heart that need addressing.
Many of us are fasting food or drink. Others are fasting something else such as TV, shopping, etc.
What can we expect from God? Well, we can expect God to be who He always is. Faithful, holy, loving, patient, kind, gentle.
And we can expect that He will do as He always does, respond to our hearts.
It’s not about Him responding to our actions, but about His response to our hearts.
Our hearts which say we realize that the things of life often have unhealthy holds on our soul.
It is about His response to our hearts as we say, “Lord, I don’t know my own heart as well as You know it. Please purify my heart.”
And as our hearts are purified, we can see God; we can hear God. We can move in the world with God’s heart, and “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:11
The Yucky Stuff
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We know the story. When we read through John 13-17, we can feel the transition happening. Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for what is before them. He tells them repeatedly that he is going away and they can’t come. They are totally confused. Their mission has been to follow Jesus; that was his first words to most of them, “Follow me”. And now, what is this he is saying? They can’t follow anymore?
In the midst of all his instructions, Jesus begins to tell them about his new commandment. “Love one another.” They don’t even really hear it at this point. They don’t seem to even respond to this new word from Jesus. They keep asking about what Jesus means about leaving them. Peter says, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now?”
Jesus cares about their hearts and responds to their distress by telling them not to be worried. And he continues to bring up this love thing. Over and over. “You gotta love each other; this is how people will know you are mine.”
Why do you suppose that love would be challenging for them in the days ahead? They were about to be thrust into a storm such as they’d never seen before. Accusations would escalate. Tempers would flair. Fear would tear their hearts apart. They would watch Jesus be taken from them and crucified.
Love’s Not Always Easy
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Open Our Eyes Lord
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