A Different Kind of Food

This past weekend we had an amazing time at the 30 Hour Famine to support World Vision! I was so proud of our group as we raised enough money to help 1 child have food, school, clothes and clean water for 5 years! Yes 5 years! That is awesome!

One major part of the event was the fast, giving up food for 30 hours. It’s a really easy concept, but a lot harder to do. Yet as a group we encouraged one another to continue on and we all made it. Praise God!

This event made me think that we need to spend more time considering some of the basic and almost forgotten spiritual disciplines. The Bible talks clearly about fasting, yet so many Christians never do. This event was the first time many of the students have ever fasted. I’ve been thinking about fasting, silence and solitude this week and how these practices are largely neglected, if even known, in our culture today.

Disclaimer: Spiritual disciplines do not make you more loved by God. You cannot earn God’s love by doing more or less of these practices. God loves you. Spiritual disciplines are practices for you to understand and draw closer to God. They are to equip you and empower you to live in His presence everyday. They are opportunities to be with the God who created you.

A Feast of Another Kind

Jesus’ disciples were befuddled. They were sent into town to buy food at a long and hard journey. All were tired and could not wait to eat and be refreshed. They looked to buy the best food they could find and couldn’t wait to get back and share with Jesus. When they returned they offered Him the food.

“I’m good, I already ate,” Jesus said.

“Did someone else bring you food?” they inquired.

“I have a different kind of food you don’t know about, it’s a feast of another kind. My food is to do the will of my Father. Look around, the harvest is ready!” Jesus said. Many Samaritans believed on Him that very day.

Jesus’ words point us to the fact that there is another kind of food. Something our souls long for that we don’t even know about. There is an appetite, a longing that can only be satisfied in the will of God.

Too Busy to Notice

This had to be a huge lesson for the disciples, as it is for us. Yet the example of fasting for evangelism that Jesus demonstrated is often forgotten by Christians. Like the disciples, we are busy going off and buying the food. Or we are the Martha’s who are setting everything up. Busy busy busy…

Yet we miss the most important things. Jesus found nourishment in sharing the Gospel. Mary found it by sitting at the feet of Jesus. But we, well we are so easily distracted that we forget we even have this appetite.

Consider what Jesus says to the church of Laodecia in Revelation 3. You know, the lukewarm church. Notice that this is a body of believers who have deceived themselves into believing they are rich and prosperous, needing nothing. Yet they don’t realize they are living on fumes.  They have exhausted their tanks and spiritually are a wreck.

What is the solution Jesus offers? An invitation to a feast!

“I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.”

Jesus’ offer is for something more, something different, something soul satisfying. Their description is of a people too busy and self-sufficient to notice their deepest need: more of Jesus.

Jesus hasn’t abandoned them, he knocks and he calls. He wants to spend time with them, but they are so busy. Do you get too busy? Do you get caught up with school, work, sports, band, family, Netflix, Xbox, movies, smart phones, relationships, gossip, etc.?

Confession

It is so easy for me to become self-sufficient in my spiritual walk. It’s easy to get caught up doing good things. Staying busy with church work, but not really feeding the soul. It’s easy to get distracted by my iPhone apps, or Netflix shows.

It takes discipline to stop and feast at the banquet table Jesus offers. I have to remove the distractions. I have to step away from the computer. I have to shut the phone off. It doesn’t happen on it’s own. But when I hear the Lord knocking and I respond, He is right there every time!

Feasting At His Table

The 30 Hour Famine led to many conversations about fasting. Fasting is a discipline that involves skipping a meal or two. I fast a couple of times per year, sometimes a few days at a time. Yet not nearly as often as I would like, but it is worth it.

If you have never fasted before, follow this link for some basic tips.

You don’t always have to do a food fast. Fast from music, fast from movies, or from technology. Deprive yourself of something normal and replace that time with prayer and meditation on God.

It can be difficult and challenging. That’s kind of the point. Depend on Jesus for your strength. Don’t complain. If you’re going to complain you may as well stop fasting. When we were hungry we said, “I’m hungry for justice” and we followed it by, “I’m thirsty for righteousness,” as reminders of what we were trying to accomplish at the 30 Hour Famine.

Silence and solitude are two practices that can be independent or joined with fasting.

Have you ever tried to be silent before God for an extended period of time? “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

On my sabbatical several years ago, I took a day that I chose to say nothing all day. It was hard. Mostly I hiked and stayed to myself, but stopping at the gas station or picking up a meal was difficult. I made preparations for it, but it was tough. However, I wanted to allow silence to work.

Solitude was also something I practiced on my sabbatical. It’s something I strive to do regularly in my life. Even if it is only for an hour, but getting away from everything and just listen. Be with God.

The idea behind fasting, silence and solitude is to find yourself recognizing, enjoying and even depending on the presence of God. These disciplines are helpful to overcome worry, doubt, sin, temptation and so much more. They are not magic. They are not the secret formula to get God to do what you want. They are a way of emptying yourself, of slowing down and of feasting at the table of Christ.

“If anyone answers, I will come in and dine with him and He with me!” That is my prayer for you!

Scripture Memory

“I’m never going to get this,” I said to my roommate Kyle in a bit of despair.

“Sure you are, give it a week and your opinion will change,” he said. 

“It’s too much,” I said, “there is no way I be able to keep up.”

This was how my conversation went after our first day in Hebrew class. Yes that was Old Testament Hebrew with all it’s strange letters and sounds. (It’s a soft guttural and not a spitting guttural FYI). I’m glad I stuck with it, with a little effort and some practice memorizing, it began to make sense.

The unfamiliar characters began to make sense. Then the pattern of putting letters together to create words began to make sense. I had to study and memorize a lot, but I was getting it. Weekly there were quizzes and then the tests. Without memorizing the alphabet, sounds and vocab words, I would have failed the class.

Life is a lot like my Hebrew class. There are quizzes and tests every day. Are you ready for them? How do you prepare for them?

The Psalmist says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11 ESV).

Here is a pattern to live by. Memorizing the Word of God will help us to overcome and stand firm in life. When trials and temptations come our way, we can be victorious when we have the Word of God in our hearts.

It was once said to me, “if you are not memorizing Scripture you have a problem with your thought life.” He was saying that worries, doubts and sins sneak into our minds, but when we are actively pursuing God’s Word, it gives us the power of a sound mind.

At first memorization is difficult and daunting. Just like my Hebrew class was. But if you stick with it, before you know it you become familiar with it and can memorize more then you’d ever think.

When it comes to Soul Care, memorizing Scripture is a must. Allowing God’s Word to fill your mind and soul is crucial to a healthy relationship with Jesus.

One thing I loved about my missions trip with Teen Missions International was that they required us to memorize 40 verses over the summer. Ok, I didn’t love it while it was happening…that’s a lot of work. But when I look back I realized how much of my heart and mind grew closer to Jesus through that practice.

Each day we would have to say our memory verse to our leaders before we could get our meal. So for breakfast we would line up and one at a time we would share the verse for the day and any verse they picked from previous days. If we missed we would go to the back of the line to practice until we got it right or everybody got through the line. We would repeat during lunch and then dinner until everybody memorized the verse.

Little did I realize at the time how important those verses would be for me. I can honestly say that those verses are still very much a foundation for my life. It was almost as if we had a verse for everything. I can still hear everyone muttering verses that helped them through difficult times, like:

“There hath no temptation take you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV).

Or,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3 KJV)

Especially the Romans Road to Salvation (Romans 3:23; 3:10; 5:12; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; 10:13; 10:17), which still proves helpful in sharing the Gospel.

Now today, years later the verses I’ve memorized come to mind clearly. Sometimes I have to work through them a little. Others I have memorized in a couple of translations, which can be a little confusing, but is also helpful.

Back to Psalm 119:11, it tells us why we should memorize. It will help us overcome sin. Think about that for a minute, why do we want to overcome sin?

To be in a right relationship with God should be our aim in this life. Jesus has provide that way through the cross. Memorizing Scripture equips us to live out the life that Jesus desires us to live.

“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4.

Check out Navigators Topical Memory System for recommended verses to memorize. Don’t delay, begin today. You will not regret it!

Quiet Time - Recharge

Can I admit something to you without sounding sacrilegious? I really don’t like the term Quiet Time. Sorry if I offended you, but it’s true. What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase, “quiet time”?

For some reason it conjures up the memories of sitting in my room awaiting punishment, or being stuck in the corner of the room in elementary school. Maybe it’s my mischievous past, but it sounds like discipline or punishment.

Of course, for parents, the phrase “quiet time” may be the perfect phrase in hopes of a few minutes to relax, to find peace and to unwind. Regardless of the imagery that comes to mind, it’s the concept that matters.

Growing up I’ve called it Quiet Time, Personal Devotions, Devos and the such. The “it” I’m talking about is spending time with God. The time you set aside to spend with the living God, the Creator of the Universe. Do you take time with God? What do you call your time? How often do you spend time with God?

I think it is important to find a term that helps you find the proper motivation to do it. It really doesn’t matter what it’s called, it matters that you do it. I like to call it “Recharge.”

Every night when I go to bed I have to pause for a moment and plug my phone into the charger. I know you thought I was going to be spiritual there. Nope, just stating a fact that my phone needs charged up. If I don’t charge it at night, then it may die on me the next day. Every once in awhile I can go several days without charging my phone, but then the functionality is limited due to battery life.

Spiritually, we need a recharge. Most Christians are so accustomed to operating on such a low charge that a weekly sermon seems to fuel them up. Now there are some really good sermons out there, but the sermon was never intended to be all you need for the entire week.

Maybe you get charged up by the worship music on Sundays or listening to Christian music. All very good, and will help sustain your current charge, but is not what’s going to recharge the battery of your soul.

The only Source we have to fully charge our spiritual battle is found in the presence of the Almighty. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself wants to spend time with you. Being in His presence is what leads to a fully charged soul. But as soon as we complete our time with Him, a drain on our battery begins. The lower it gets the more susceptible we are to sin.

The longer we go without spending time with Jesus, the easier it is for us to continue in sin. Just reading the Bible will not stop us from sinning, but actually learning how to relate to Him and growing in our friendship with Him will.

The Quiet Time, Recharge, Personal Devotion time is to be a time where you plug into the Word of God and learn about Jesus. Spend time with Him by listening to what He has spoken in the Word for you and by being open and honest with Him.   

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation”  (1 Peter 2:2 ESV). Our desire for God’s Word should be like a baby wanting his next meal. A persistent desire expressed that can only be satisfied by feeding. We are to long for the Word of God and we are to be nourished by it. Only by spending time with Jesus will we recharge and be effective.

A few tips to have an effective “recharge” time with Jesus are:

·      Open with a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to teach you. Psalm 119:18

·      Choose an appropriate length of Scripture to dwell on. Not too long were you only read, but long enough to give you something to think about. The idea is to read and reflect.

·      Writing the passage out in your own words can be helpful to understand it.

·      Ask questions like:

o   What is this passage saying about God?

o   What is it saying about me?

o   What promise is there for me to claim?

o   What sin do I need to confess?

o   How do I need to change?

·      Try to focus on your relationship with Jesus in this time.

Just A Little CHAT

Soul Care

Over the next few weeks we will be talking about “soul care.” The soul is often overlooked in the business of life. We take too much on, we focus on school, work, relationships, etc. Yet we fail to make sure our soul is cared for. We don’t pause long enough to listen to the voice of God, to hear from the Word or to replenish our faith. We will look at what the Bible says about prayer, quiet time, worship, service and evangelism.

Just a little chat

One thing we want more then anything is to communicate with others, yet we are so poor at it. We have created so many great devices to help us communicate, and yet the more options we have the more we seem to fail at the very thing we are seeking.

When God created us, He created us as He is, to be a relational being. We desire to know and to be known. We want others to know us, and yet we are afraid to be truly known. We seek to converse, but we hold back from what we truly want to say. In the multitude of social media sites, smart phones, emails and text messages, we sit feeling disconnected and empty.

So many things mess up our communications. Sometimes it the tone cannot be properly relayed through text. Other times we haven’t taken time to actually listen to what the other person is saying. The timing of the conversation might not align with the depth of the topic. How much sleep, what we ate, how we feel, and the list goes on. And that is only one side of it all.

Perhaps the most significant reason that our communication with others breaks down is our failure to communicate with the One who created us. We are born into this world disconnected from our Creator because of our sinfulness. Yet God created us to be in a relationship with Him and He has provided a way for this purpose to be reconciled. In Christ, we have the opportunity to once again be united with God, to talk with Him and to know Him.

He reveals Himself as our Heavenly Father, and we can cry out to Him as “Abba,” which means “daddy!” He wants us to acknowledge His presence and to talk to Him. However, we neglect this often. How often do you pray?

What comes to mind when you hear the word prayer? Some stifling old guy rambling on and on in a boring prayer meeting…blah, blah, blah? Someone talking about a never-ending list of requests?  Some formal language that you just haven’t figured out? Awkward? Silent? Unfamilar? Or is it life-giving and hope filled?

Prayer is talking to God.

That is it. No formula, no magic incantation, just you and God having a chat. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (Luke 11:1-13). He gave them a pattern of prayer. Someone once described it as the ACTS prayer pattern. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication, which I have found helpful but needs some explanation.  So we are going to make it a bit easier and talk about it as having a CHAT with God.

CONFESS

When we talk to God, it is always best to come with a clean slate through Confession. Psalm 66:18 tells us that hiding sin in our hearts will prevent the Lord from hearing us. 1 John 1:9 encourages us by saying God will forgive us of our sins when we Confess. Even as the Lord’s prayer says “forgive us our sins.”

God is a big God and He can handle your sin. Don’t hold it back from Him…remember He knows everything already. Confession is saying the same thing as, to acknowledge how you have sinned against God and ask for forgiveness.

HONOR

Once you have confessed your sin, Honor God by praising His name. Jesus taught us to recognize God is Holy, “hallowed,” and He is in Heaven. God is “other” then us. He is bigger then our comprehension. He is creative, resplendent in majesty, gracious to sinners, generous and kind. Our words are so limited to describe Him, yet He has revealed Himself to us.

To Honor God is to step back and admire who He is in awe and wonder. It is to tell Him how much you love Him and need Him. As the psalmist says, “I will praise Him in the midst of the throng” (Psalm 109:30).

ASK

Asking seems to be the area we are best at. It can be hard to confess, it is hard to praise, but it is easy to ask. God is our Heavenly Father who is not offended when we come to Him with our requests. Actually He wants us to run to Him with our requests.

It is good to evaluate what is on our “Ask” list. What we are asking for is indicator of what is going on in our heart. If we are careful, we could be asking for things that are against God’s will, which He will not give us. Yet as we learn to love God more, our affections and desires mature according to His plan.

Life can get difficult and hard. Stresses and frustrations will arise. Jesus wants you to bring your fears, struggles and requests to Him (Philippians 4:6).

THANK

One thing God loves is a grateful heart. He gives us so much, the breath we are breathing right now, our health, our family, etc. He has given us His Son, salvation, redemption and a future hope. There is nothing we can do to repay Him. Yet a little Thanks goes a long way!

““Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name” (Psalm 100:4). Do you want to be a blessing to God? Thank Him for His loving kindness today!

Talking with God can take on many forms. You don’t always have to kneel beside your bed and fold your hands. You don’t always have to close your eyes. You can pray while you are walking, driving or waiting. God is ever present and a whisper away. Just talk to Him.

As you CHAT with God, watch how He works in your life. As you are seeking to connect with those around you, don’t fail to connect with the one who Created you.

FAITH is OBEDIENCE

“By FAITH Abraham OBEYED…” (Hebrews 11:8).

We have been studying the call and life of Abraham on Sunday mornings as we prepare for REACH Sunday, in our series called “SENT.” Understanding that way back in the beginning, God has been calling His people into missions. To “go and make disciples of all nations!”

The story of Abram, who becomes Abraham, is such an appropriate life to consider when we think of Global Missions. From the call to leave his homeland, his career, his family and his comforts, to the unknown and uncertainty of what was ahead, Abraham stepped out in faith. As the author of Hebrews writes, “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, who designer and builder is God.” Abraham had his focused fixed on something bigger then the immediate and trivial things that so often consume our lives.

Abraham, known as the “Father of Faith,” has set for us an example to follow. Faith, true faith, is obedient to God’s call…no matter what. That is easy to say, it is easy to type, it is even easy to read…yet it is hard to do. What’s the last thing you have sacrificed? I mean really, something that hurt to give up in order to glorify God? It’s convicting to think about this question because often times we can’t even remember the last time.

Don’t misunderstand me; I am not saying that we cannot glorify God in our affluence or that we cannot glorify God while enjoying good things. What I’m getting at is, how are you living by faith today? What is faith to you? Is your view of a life of faith consistent with what the Bible describes?

Even after Abraham trusted God with leaving his comforts of home, career and being willing to live in a place he did not know, God had more challenges before him. Read Genesis 22:1-18. Maybe you should read it again.

Abraham was willing to follow the call of God because of the promise God had given him; a promise to bless him with descendants that will become a blessing to all the nations. Here we read that God wants him to sacrifice that very promise He gave him. Can you imagine, the most important thing in Abraham’s life, his one and only son, God asked him to sacrifice?

So what is the most important thing in your life? What do you value above all else? What if God asked you to give that up? Would you be willing to let go and follow God wherever He calls?

There are three things we learn about an obedient faith in this passage.

A life of faith is not an easy life!

It isn’t easy to believe God. It’s not easy to trust in the Bible over what everyone else is saying. And even when we do believe, the Bible never promises and easy life. It does promise blessings, but not a life of ease.

Abraham was asked to do the hardest thing imaginable, to sacrifice his own son. That is not easy. It’s not easy emotionally, spiritually or physically. Think of the questions that went through his mind. “What kind of God would want me to sacrifice my son? What will my wife say? I’m too old to start over. Will I ever recover from this emotionally?” And so many more. Yet he obeyed.

True faith doesn’t demand all the answers.

Faith is trusting God when things don’t make sense. If this is what God wanted, Abraham would do it believing that God could raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

Even as Abraham ascended the mountain, his answer to his son was, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” (Genesis 22:8 KJV). I love how the KJV renders this verse. For after all, God became the perfect Lamb who was slain for our sins.

A tested faith produces a stronger faith

I believe the reason Abraham was willing to get up early the very next morning and begin the long hike to sacrifice his son, was because of the previous trials he had been through. He had seen God prove Himself over and over in His life and trusted that God would once again prove Himself faithful. Abraham’s faith had stood the test time and again, and was stronger because of it.

This is one reason I love missions trips. I thank God for the several opportunities I have had to travel the world to share the Gospel. In each and every trip, my faith was challenged, stretched and strengthened. Every time I step out on a new adventure, I recall how God has proved Himself more and more. My faith has become stronger and stronger and it’s easier to trust God. Yet I still feel the need to pray the Centurion’s prayer, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”

What is God calling you to today? What is your mission field? Maybe there is an opportunity to “go into all the world” on a missions trip, or full time missions. Maybe God will place a burden on your heart for a specific area of the world. Certainly there is a mission field where you live, in your schools and at your work place. Who do you need to share the Gospel with this week?

God isn’t calling you to sacrifice your son, but He might ask you to sacrifice your pride. Are you willing to step out in faith and obey the call? After all “FAITH is OBEDIENCE!”