Blog entry 2-Fasting

My personal fasting journey:

Yesterday was day one of my preparation for a fast. I plan on starting the fast this Sunday.

In the morning, I drank 2 cups of coffee two 16 oz. bottles of water. For the rest of the day I drank water (only) and ate only fresh vegetables and a small amount of fruit.

This morning I woke a little tired, which might be because I didn’t get to sleep until midnight.  I had a small headache and a little heart burn. I am going to repeat what I did yesterday as far as my intake. Cup of coffee, water, fresh vegetables and a small amount of fruit.

My first breakthrough came yesterday while I walked and prayed for lunch.  God brought to my attention that I had lots of anxiety about stuff.  I have concerns about making ends meet, paying bills, making payroll at the church, church bills and much more (to many to list really).  He pointed out to me that I wasn’t walking in faith and because of that my joy was lost.  As I prayed, God took me back to a time in my life where my walk with Him and my prayers were so much more. As I walked and God spoke to me, I could feel His peace come over me.  My burdens, fears, and worries lifted… it was wonderful!  It was like visiting a secluded tropical island, basking in the sun on an isolated beach as the wind and waves kept rhythm with my soul.  The moment only lasted a short while but it was enough for me to start inventorying all that I am concerned and anxious about and realize how far I have drifted from my intimacy with God.  As my physical body is shedding the toxins of bad food choices, my soul is shedding the toxins of bad spiritual choices.  Both feel wonderful, I can’t wait to walk with God today.

Fasting- one of three duties of every Christian

What are you missing out on by not fasting?

In the sermon Jesus gave on the mountain in Matthew 5-7, he gives us the outline for what it looks to be Christian. He pointed out three things in that sermon that are given for every Christian to do.

“When you give to the needy…”Matt 6:2

“And when you pray…” Matt 6:5

“”When you fast…” Matt 6:16

All three of these are normal parts of the Christian life, not options, not traditions, and not suggestions.  As much attention should be given to fasting as is on praying and giving.

I never fasted, ever, until I set out to start my own church and began studying the Bible because of feeling overwhelmed and intimidated at what God was calling me to do.  So, in a sorts, you could say out of desperation, I discovered fasting.  Fasting for me has been one of the greatest tool to re-center my life on God, to refocus my life on His mission for me, to remind me God is God and I am not.  Fasting tends to renew my joy and peace as I commune with God.  My fasting tells God I am serious about Him and in turn God tells me He is serious about loving me.

Today, unfortunately I know so many who feel helpless against the problems they face because they don’t understand how fasting and prayer engages God.  In the days of Esther, a horrible thing was about to happen to the people of Esther, they were going to be murdered, genocide.  Esther was one of many queens in the Kings palace, she was a Hebrew as well.  It was up to her and her alone to go see the King and try and stop the slaughter of her people.  Sounds easy until you understand the laws in her day.  If a person were to enter the King’s presence without being summoned that person would be executed.  It was against the law to seek the King, he had to seek you.  Esther couldn’t wait to be called by the King, she had to approach him and break the law, risking her life for the life of her people.  Before she went she told Mordecai, her uncle, this:

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Est 4:15-16

Esther calls for a fast first before she takes on this bold plan, before she makes a move she engages God with a fast.  She also doesn’t fast alone she asks others to join her as she seeks God’s help.  What Esther was about to do was impossible, but was made possible because God gave her His favor as she sought Him through fasting and prayer.

What in your life seems overwhelming?  What answers do you need that you do not have?  What do you not have peace about?  Is it time to fast?

I want to say God’s peace surrounds you as you come closer to Him.  You don’t have to have a major decision, dilemma, or problem to fast.  You can simply want to be closer to God than you are now.

Next Entry: Daniel fasted.

January 5, 2011  2 Comments

Blog Entry 1-Fasting

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you,

my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

Psalms 63:1

It is a New Year and time for a refreshed time with God.  It is a great time to start with a fast. So this is my first entry as I begin a journey of fasting in search of a closer relationship with God.  I want to invite you to join me as I prepare and fast.  It can be a wonderful time of unlocking your relationship with God and bringing about His breakthroughs in your life.  Quite honestly, nothing works better to knock the cobwebs off your relationship with God and to cause your heart to be more sensitive to God than fasting.  So join me and lets draw closer to Him.

What is a fast?

It is simply refraining from food for a spiritual purpose.  It’s not just not eating, that’s a diet.  The purpose of fasting isn’t physical but spiritual.  It isn’t just a practice of fanatics, and lunatics, but you will see as we venture deeper it is a consistent practice of those who are followers of Christ.

Preparations are underway…

I have always worked into a fast, what I mean is I like to do smaller fasts before a larger fast.  I once did a 27 day fast but only after a 9 day fast that prepared me.  I have found if I do preparation before the larger fast the time is more meaningful and more God focused and less about being hungry.  It is like this; exercise is hard, but one of the hardest obstacles is getting used to hearing yourself out of breath and dealing with the pain of stressing your body as you work out.  The longer you exercise the less your breathing and body pain bothers you.  When it comes to fasting you have to remember this isn’t about dieting (although there are huge health benefits to fasting) it is about a spiritual journey you are taking to experience God more, to get answers you do not have, to discover blessings, to intercede for others and so much more.

For the days leading up to my fast I am cutting carbonation, processed foods, and drinking lots of water.  This is going to give my body a chance to flush out the junk it has collected through the stuff I have eaten and drank.  This transition is a tough one and takes about three days to get over, but once you do you will feel better with more energy and much more prepared for your fast.

So to be specific for the next three days I am going to eat fresh vegetables, and limited amounts of fresh fruits, and drink lots of water.  I may have to take a Tylenol or two until the headaches pass but that is part of the peparation.  This means no sweets, no processed foods, no breads, no meats, and no drinks other than water.  This will be getting my body ready for what’s next…

Spiritual preparations

A fast without praying is like a car without wheels…What’s the point?  Over the next three days I am going to be in prayer and study much more than normal. Here is somewhat of my schedule:

1.  Day one-Confession, dealing with my sin.  Admitting, uncovering, and stepping out of denial.

Ps 32:5

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”–

and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

2.  Day two-Listening.  Lots of quiet time, just listening to God and for God.

John 10:27-28

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

3.  Day three-Praise.  I will spend the day in prayer and praise for all that God is, has done, and will do.

John 4:23-24

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

4.  Everyday I will journal, study scripture, and obey quickly what ever God tells me.

I plan on sharing my experiences here with you.

Next Entry Tomorrow: Fasting is one of three duties of every Christian…What are you missing out on by not fasting?

January 4, 2011  Leave a comment

5 practical ways to choose less for more…

1. Choose peace of mind over pricey things: I can’t count the number of friends who “have to have” something, only later to regret the unforgivable payment book.

Learn to wait & pray – this gives you opportunity to consider the consequences and test your motives. If you haven’t prayed about it don’t get it. It is way better to have the ability to sleep and night than it is to have the biggest and best.

2. Learn to master your emotions: Most bad spending is directly connected to our out of control emotions.

We spend to make us feel better, we spend when we feel good, and we spend to break up the routine. We simply love to spend money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, so we can feel better or be happy. For example when we are down we go out to eat, this leads to spending money on food that we don’t need (for our health) and can’t afford (our pocket book).

Comfort food has made many of us uncomfortably in debt, and unbearably to fat. What is the answer? Learn to keep your emotions in check, never to high, never to low. Learn that you are the master of your emotions, and God is the master of you. Put Him first, not the way you feel and you will find that you will no longer need to break out the plastic to bring you up or keep you up.

3. Remember that God hasn’t given you more so you can upgrade to the next better thing! God has given you more and your cup runs over, so you can share!

Take time to notice people around you and what they need. Spend less time shopping the catalogs, scouring the want ads, searching the magazines and surfing EBay for stuff you might want, take less time entertaining your eyes. Don’t get trapped into believing that you are the center of the universe, instead keep in mind, God has given TO you to give THROUGH you. Learn the value of being content and the joy of giving it will keep much of your wants in check.

4. Be willing to put in the hard work of spending less: That’s right it is hard work to spend less.

Coupons, buying in bulk, shopping for the right car at the right price, or waiting for the affordable house are work. But in the long run it’s worth it. The sweat you put into paying less will lead to having less debt, smaller payments and less to maintain. It’s like some old truths: don’t grocery shop when you are hungry, don’t buy the first car you test drive, don’t purchase that house because you want to impress someone. Take your time; consider a few things before you jump in neck deep. You might consider:

Can I get by with what I have?

Is there a lesser expensive substitute to what I want?

Is there a used option?

Can I wait and save the money needed for this purchase saving me the interest?

Is there another way to save on this? (Coupons, special offers etc)

5. Finally, make the decision: You have to manage what you have and leverage it, so that it will last the longest.

Credit is spending money in the future that I don’t yet have, budgeting is managing what I have today, saving is keeping something for tomorrow, and tithing/generosity is paying forward into eternity. What will last the longest? What will I enjoy the longest?

December 16, 2010  Leave a comment

Choosing less for more

Our economy and much of our lives are based on having more. We teach our children that if they grow up and have more they are a success. For instance it is the goal and aspiration for us as kid to have more than our parents. So from an early age we are taught if we have more, own more, make more, and do more we are successful by the standard of more.

Lately, I have come to understand that more isn’t better. Let me give you an example. I have learned the more I do the more it costs me. The more events we are involved with, the more times we go, the more we are on the go, the more we spend on food because we can’t prepare it at home (which is way cheaper). Also the more on the go we are the more we spend on gas because we are always in the car. The more we spend on maintaining our home because we don’t have the time to do it ourselves.

I have also learned the more I have the more it has me! For example the more (larger) yard I have the more time I have to spend cutting it. The more house I have the more I have to work to pay for it. The more (higher paying) job I have the more I have to work to keep it. The more toys I have the more I have to work to maintain them.

There also is the cost of relationships. I have found that my time with my wife, my kids, my church family is much shallower when my life is dominated by getting, having, and going. Slowing down, and doing life on less gives margin for people.

The most expensive cost of having more is God has less of me. My prayers are less about worship, and understanding Him and more about how He can help me get more, keep more, and accomplish more. I tend to focus more on His hands (that provide) than His face. The depth and fullness of my life is directly connected to the depth and fullness of my relationship to Christ. No doubt God gives us the freedom to choose the spiritual “drive through”, but the richness of a gourmet meal is ours if we make time for it.

Truth is we have been programmed to be idolaters. Idolatry is the worship (investing our lives in) a god other than the true God, Jesus. Worship comes with expectations and a return. The worship of the god, More, has gotten us a lot in return. It has gotten us more in debt, more stressed, more guilt, more bitter, more divorced, more foreclosed on, more disappointed and more dead (we are dieing younger due to the stress load). That isn’t what we expected, we expected that if we had more we would enjoy more. We got the bait and switch. 75% of Americans say they spend a significant amount of time worrying about loosing what they have. That means we spend more time worrying about loosing what we have than we do enjoying it!

We need to relearn what life really is. Jesus said it like this:

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15 NIV

In other words there is way more to life than simply having more, getting more, and keeping more. What if we traded stress for peace, debt for credit, and disappointment for joy? What would life look like if we chose to live instead of worry?

Next entry: 5 practical ways to choose less for more.

November 10, 2010  4 Comments

Radical Faith

This is the teaser to our newest series at ThatChurch.com.

October 29, 2010  Leave a comment

An Adventure…

It is 3:04am. I am quietly preparing as most in my world sleeps. In about four hours my son and I will board a plane with at team of missionaries from ThatChurch.com and embark on a 7000 mile journey to the Nation of Israel, and The West Bank. This is my second trip to the area yet it is an anxious time, I always feel like I am forgetting something. I’m reminding myself that Jesus sent the first missionaries with clothes on their backs and an amazing story and they changed the world. I pray for the same opportunity (although I’m carrying a lot more). Your well wishes are appreciated, but your prayers are coveted! I will try to update as I go…

Scott

October 16, 2010  1 Comment

Pleasing God by @Barryworcester of H2O Church

God is pleased with . . . Reaping What is Sown.

One of the messages that the church has portrayed in recent decades is that ‘sowing seeds of good things’ is often the important mission of every Christ Follower. We are good at articulating a passion or burden, but often fail in actually impacting the mission to be undertaken. In fact, we are good at duplicating this message by the phrases adopted by us:

“Let’s send a message to these people by . . .”
“We didn’t succeed, but at least we sowed seeds . . .”

Recently, a local church perpetuated this philosophy by a mission project. The church ordered a semi-truck load of potatoes, deciding to give fifty pound sacks of potatoes to individuals in the community to ‘raise awareness’ of hunger. After several weekends of work, thousands of pounds of potatoes were still not distributed. The church gave away potatoes to anyone who would take them, in an attempt to get rid of the potatoes before they spoiled. They failed and half of the truck load of potatoes spoiled. The end result, seeds were scattered, but the majority of the potatoes were not even given to the hungry. A message was sent, seeds were sown, but hunger remained.

Matthew 13:3-9 is the parable of the seeds, where Jesus describes a farmer who scatters seeds. Verses 8-9 record: “8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear.” Jesus’ emphasis is upon the produced crop and the exponential multiplication of the seed. The church often states the need to sow seed broadly in order that some might be reproduced, yet fails in reaping a harvest. Reaping is more important that sowing seeds. Pleasing God . . . God is not pleased with sowing without reaping.

Ministry Philosophy: Concentrate more energy on the harvest than the sowing. Is your service one of sowing or reaping? Have you adopted the cultural value of ‘sending messages’ or delivering solutions and solving problems?

October 12, 2010  Leave a comment

I am in Christ…

I am accepted…

John 1:12 I am God’s child. John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 I have been justified. 1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body. Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ. Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I am secure…

Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation. Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God. Philippians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me. Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven. 2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. 1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I am significant…

John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life. John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God’s temple. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God. Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. Ephesians 2:10 I am God’s workmanship. Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

Here is the free audio Bible I mentioned Sunday: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/