Fast and the Curious: A Grace Expression

I was thinking – yeah shock I know – how the blogposts give an insight into what I’m thinking at a given time, but don’t really offer that much insight into who I am and what I do, which is cool in some cases, but not in all. Then remembering the series on fasting and a current theme on grace expressions everything coalesced neatly into today’s blog.

I walked home from the YMCA this evening from the Chill, Chat & Connect session I help to run on a Monday evenings. As I made my way down Watkin Street, the street on which I live, I began thinking to myself what I would probably blog this evening.

I was reflecting on the life I live and the blessings to which I am afforded at this time and the following concept came to mind. - Fasting in the Feast and Feasting in the Famine. I noticed that this has been a rich season for reading and writing – being able to do things I enjoy and feel gifted at. I considered the fact that Hughie’s invitation to use the upstairs office at Phase 1 or even use an office at NORSACA as a base of operations until my area in the main hall was sorted was part of a wave of good feeling.

So this was about giving me the space and the time to continue the one-to-one conversations as well as reading online material and more Bible study that would inform and shape the writing that would emerge from that.

I then reflected how that would help me work towards the scene of producing writing material for different organisations – COG, NORSACA and the YMCA chiefly and then also from that developing those audio recordings and projects that spin off from that.

Reflecting on such a time of plenty in terms of opportunities and creativity made me more aware of the need to be grateful to God for opportunities. As I put this in the context of making copious notes on the notepad as well as electronically and yet that didn’t cover all that I think and consider made me all the more thankful.

Then I thought again about that episode in Genesis when Pharaoh is bothered by a dream that he cannot understand. Then an imported foreign slave who was also a convicted rapist was discovered to also have a good way with these dreams. What he was about to divulge to the Pharaoh would contribute to the country being an economic superpower in a global downturn. The principle behind the success was relatively simple – in times of plenty as you enjoy remember to store up because days of famine are around the corner and how you deal with the feast will determine how you cope in the famine.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that this is a great life principle. Not every day is sunshine and not every day sees it dull and overcast. Some days are better than others, but all days can be fruitful and productive days however bad it may appear when the attitude is to make the most of every situation so that it benefits the good and the bad that comes.

It is something that has been stressed in our church that we need to make the most of the time that we have to seek God now and develop a passionate relationship with Him. We really have to soak in and retain as much as we can of the good experiences we have now. These will sustain and keep us connected to the generous Father who allows us to have all good things. It will allow us not to make the mistakes of history where a people delivered from soul-crushing slavery by mighty acts of God were only too quick to complain when bad things rather than believe that the same God who did those tremendous acts would sustain them even in time of lack and indeed the very knowledge that it is on Him they rely should not develop a complaining culture but a thankful people.

The script of God’s relationship with people is Him being gracious, loving, merciful and forgiving while we only remember Him when we reap the harsh consequences of our neglect of Him. Sometimes even this memory of Him is short term and convenience based rather than relationally dependent.

So I look at my wife and children, consider the job I have and the people with whom I work and whom I serve, the church that I am a part of with the benefits we currently enjoy and endeavour to savour these times. These are not deserved for I have done nothing to merit them, my own failings and struggles constantly disqualify me from the abundant generosity and love of God.

Yet the reality is that I am witness of His grace and genuinely believe by His grace slowly but surely as Paul and John wrote I’m getting better all the time. Better than that is that the grace of God and His character remain the same – His love endures forever, blessed be His name.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Fast and the Curious: Hunger and Thirst for God

So this is blog entry 150 for the year. One short of equalling the year’s record set in 2007 and thus only two short of exceeding that record and at the rate of entries on course to break that mystical 200 barrier. Not that it’s about idolising minutiae of blog entries, but it is about having a target if I hope to be a more consistent writer. I mean how much more can you get in consistency than surpassing one every two days and so to less than every two days. That would be tremendous for me and give hope for the future.

As ever an update on how we go to where we are now. First has been the ignorant start that led to an awareness of why fasting is so important. Relationships play a vital role in growing in fasting and there are great benefits found here. This was typified in a most remarkable episode that should have had lasting implications for me. Yet the last entry should just how busyness can lead to a downfall even from the heights that had been reached personally.

In any case a scripture to get on with things.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)

In many ways the timing for this entry on the Fast and the Curious series is most apt. The other night I was part of a church gathering which looked at Psalm 34 which says in verse 19 that encouraging piece of news for all believers – many are the afflictions of the righteous! Yeah, yeah, the Lord delivers us from them all, but did you see that first word – many. That sounds like quite a lot. As in that’s not a cheap and easy quick burst of affliction and that’s your lot, oh no, many. It’s in the contract. It’s a part of the deal. Now sure later on it would also go onto mention that the wicked gets lots of afflictions as well almost as if life comes with lots of afflictions but I’m sure some of us would prefer to join a side where afflictions aren’t in the ‘many’ category. I mean that’s what a lot of life is geared to isn’t it – stress-free, trouble-free, minimising pain, etc. etc. Yet here in God’s beautiful and glorious Word we’re told that this is not the path of the Christ-follower.

It gets worse (or better depending on your perspective). Jesus spends a considerable amount of his time telling potential followers that the road is not a glamorous one and is fraught with persecution, rejection, misunderstanding and trials. Just in case you think the New Testament writers would ease up on us Jimmy, Pete and even John give the impression that this journey is not for the faint-hearted.

Then just when you think it’s safe to emerge from the barrage of just what a hard life it is we come across, Paul lays on the above verse, which was mentioned in the same service. We rejoice in our sufferings? We do? Really? Rejoice? Well apparently this is where the rest of the verses provide the assurance that there is a purpose to the suffering even if an understanding isn’t always clear. That purpose is character building that reminds us of the hope we have evidenced by the reality of the Holy Spirit given to us.

The hope, the character building and the very presence of the Holy Spirit in life, points unmistakeably to Jesus. For some reason that still astounds me to this day, despite the fact that the label says Christian and we have come because of Jesus it seems only too easy once you get in there to forget the place He plays in the whole business. No we don’t forget Him completely, we still sing the songs about Him, we still talk about Him from time to time and we definitely hear about Him every time we’re in a church context. Yet a real heart devotion to following Him and becoming like Him gets lost in the shuffle of other life priorities – family, work, money, self, etc. It’s as though we love Him one minute and the very next we’re back to loving ourselves. One of the most loving things then about suffering is that in building character it reminds me often on whom I rely, on whom I trust, on whom my very existence and all else is dependent. For I have two options when I suffer – withdraw from God into myself, or draw out from myself and get closer to God.

I never knew that until 2004-05 when circumstances conspired to thrust me to the place of God being everything to me and meaning everything to me. The whole point of loving God, desiring God came through in a powerful from outside my box. It’s connection to fasting should be obvious, but to draw it out, there is nothing to rings out a more desperate cry for God than abasing our very human nature to hear from God, to experience God, to declare our ultimate desire for God above all else – including the very food and drink that others would suggest is fundamental to life.

As God drew me out of the hard season of 2004-05 He reminded me of some key inspirations to getting to know God and love Him and hunger and thirst after Him. First of all there was the ministry of John Piper which you can follow through the Desiring God web-site. To this day I do not know how I got into Piper. I think it may have been around a time I was getting a Bible database which included documents by different Christian writers, Piper being one of them. I was then fascinated by what he had to say about church and this went further into the core of his ministry which he defines as Christian Hedonism. Well he couldn’t have put something more provocative to someone like me who was already aware of the negative connotations of hedonism. Reading it and finding out that our greatest pleasure and desire is found in God and so it makes sense to make much of Christ. From the end of my university days until around the time of my marriage I didn’t pay too much attention to Piper after discovering him at university.

Yet coming out of my dark times I realised just how important desiring God really is to existence. Since then Piper’s ministry has had a profound influence on my passion and desire for God and teaching and writing and speaking. It was nowhere near my cultural and Christian background. What I was getting from Piper was not like anything I had experienced before and not because he wasn’t from a setting that was jumping and shouting. I laugh at the thought of someone like Piper ever being able to come and speak oat our church, but I would love it. I admire the way he is passionate about Jesus and the gospel. That was simply infectious and to know that his ministry had been relatively successful for over two decades of hard service was also very instructive. To see such passion and enthusiasm matched with such a diligent approach to study caught my attention. To hear his call for deeper relationship with God brought me closer to committing myself further to prayer and fasting. The God that Piper mentioned was the same that I’d heard for some 20 years at home, but there was just something insistent about the presentation. Something that said Jesus is so much more worthy of my entire life than any other ministry I had come across before.

The heart of fasting has been to feast on God and I’m grateful for this first remarkable character who helped develop that desire. Yet that was not enough and there would be another significant other who would nudge me in a certain area. That will be outlined in the next blog episode.

What I do want to finish this entry with, though, is an encouragement to go beyond your own way of knowing in exploring God. Be prepared for God to speak to you outside the conventional circles, so that just in the same way that Abram was called from his cultural norms and to come out to engage with the living God. Fasting plays a crucial part in the call of Christ to come out of what we know to what He knows. That is an exciting journey and very daunting, but lo He is with us always …

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
dmcd

Fast and the Curious: Desperately Seeking God

As I thought that brief intermission from the series has allowed me to feel refreshed addressing this important issue of fasting. So where we’ve been is the ignorant start that led to an awareness of why fasting is so important. Nothing happens out of context so relationships have played a key role in growing in this area. There are significant bonuses found in the hugely underrated spiritual discipline. The last stop in this journey is a most remarkable episode that should have had lasting implications for me.

Indeed I would love to be able to tell you that from there I grew in stature and favour with God and with man as my spiritual devotion went from strength to strength in such areas. Sadly that would be lying. Events took a turn for the worst near the end of 2004 and 2005 was a rough year of sorting and sifting personally and corporately. Near the end of that year, though, as the light became a bit more evident fasting again became a key tool in helping me get my bearings on what it all meant.

I remember during the end of year festivities a group of us as men spent a day fasting at a friend’s house. It was the first time I remember fasting since the year before. My brother was visiting me in Stoke at the time and he was able to join us as we reflected again on the nature of fasting and it was so humbling to be able to learn things about fasting that put a lot of the mess of my life at that time into perspective. It was literally a time of humbling recognising that fasting is about seeing me for who I am in the light of an awesome, holy, omni-you-name-it God.

It regularly comes to remind me that the focus should be on Him to inform everything else in life. Downfalls occur when that focus has shifted, which is easy to do because that is the fallen nature of man – hence idolatry. It was a very sobering time of prayer and reflection in conversation. I remember David’s contribution in that session about the sheer physical insignificance of the human in the light of God being something that should humble us. We are the great Big Cheese (especially seeing as though I hate cheese).

The one reason why they call acts like fasting a spiritual discipline is because it is such a useful tool to remain focussed on the whole point of being a disciple. The seeds to my downfall at the end of 2004 were familiar ones of being busy.

I was even reflecting near the beginning of the week the episode of Jesus with Mary and Martha. The scene is sadly too familiar in Christendom and is somewhat reinforced by the Protestant ethic. Here is Martha, noticing that the Master is in the house and so will need serving. She is toiling away ensuring things are sorted, but as she labours alone she grows somewhat frustrated that her sister is sitting at Jesus’ feet taking in what He’s saying. Finally fed up she asks the Rabbi to instruct her sister to lend a helping hand. Jesus, however, rather than commending Martha on her practical helps and works, actually suggests that Mary’s option was the wiser.

Life and especially church life can keep you wrapped up in a routine of going from service to service and supporting one thing and another. It feels like it is one activity blending into another and before you know it you’re caught up in the fatal rat-race of keeping active because life is in the activity. You can more than rationally explain works-based faith on this reading.

Now I don’t want to dismiss the importance of actually doing something. By no means am I promoting a comatose spirituality full of wistful contemplating and ‘breathing in’ more of God. The danger however is to be defined by the things we do, rather than being defined by relationship – child of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Where fasting is a wonderful reminder of that simplicity is like Mary, fasting says I am desperate to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear what He has to say to me. So desperate am I for seeking God that all else matters not even that which I’ve claimed to be fundamental like food and drink. This does not matter as I afflict the body to seek out the Saviour.

In the madness of a busy life we can lose sight of that and fasting as a disciplined exercised properly arrests that mentality. It shifts the focus from what I do what He has done and what He continues to do. Fasting arrests my hyperactivity and leaves me more in awe of what God has said and has to say on my current situation. With senses so attuned to how His voice speaks and the content in it – whether in the Word of God or through a casual conversation, or wherever else – we end up with a better perspective of who we are and who He is and like Mary will have invested in the better portion.

The Christian journey is such, though, that even in the depths of despair and hopelessness as He helps you pick up the pieces of your broken shattered life it in itself will be a cause for rejoicing just to consider that amazing love and compassion that would allow Him to use experiences like this to hunger for Him more. It comes across counter-intuitive, but as events would show, sometimes the most painful of times is exactly what needs to happen to draw us closer to Him even in fasting and prayer.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Faster Through The Curious

I am enjoying sharing the journey into fasting. More than anything it is a testament to God’s incredible grace and patience as well as mercy in allowing me to make this journey at all and bumbling around stumble on what are priceless treasures in knowing Christ. The story has gone from that ignorant start to realising why this series is so important, then appreciating the key role of relationships that paved the way to being more aware of some of the outstanding benefits found in the Word of God and this highly underrated spiritual discipline.

Recently I shared on some of the importance of being focussed the hard way through experience. This is part of the reason for this series. It’s one thing to go through the Bible, it’s another thing to experience what the Word explains. So from the time of being aware of the power of fasting it was a case of growing into it slowly but surely.

From 2000-2003 fasting took on a semi-regular part of my life. I have no outstanding memories of fasting sessions, though I do recall that it was important in the run-up to the National Convention that was held in Stoke-on-Trent in 2002. Following the success of that as the Lawrences and Drydens prayed and planned towards confirming the church plant in the city, fasting and praying played a crucial part in the process. (By the way, the Drydens thing, Authrine moved to the area in September/October 2002 and by then we were engaged)

This was good for the corporate scale, but in all of this it did not really affect me greatly on the personal level. That was about to change. It is wonderful to fast corporately and contribute to the bigger picture. Fasting, however, has as much to do with the individual pursuit of developing relationship with God as it does with the corporate pursuit.

In October 2003 the fledgling church group in Stoke-on-Trent agreed to a rota of fasting to coincide with the Muslim month of Ramadan. Although I was used to fasting and praying, it never really stretched over a day. I don’t recall doing 24-hour stretches of going without food and drink. I also had not given any thought to other types of fast such as going without television or heavy meats for a season.

During this month of fasting, though, I took a closer look at fasting and the things that it could entail. I also got immersed in alternate dietary lifestyles and things that could help purge the body of impurities even as fasting can help in that process and we can see it spiritually being a detoxification process. This can be seen by total focus on Christ which allows Him to highlight and cleanse our system of the ways and thoughts that are contrary to Him.

Such was the fascination in the study and the overall interest in the time of fasting that arguably one of the most significant steps in my journey with Christ took place at the end of the month. I quit all non-meat foods. Now when I say I quit it, most people then naturally refer to me as a vegetarian or a vegan. I don’t stop people in that pursuit, but I do not hold such a claim tightly. That is because I don’t get too fastidious about eating milk chocolate, for example, and I’m sure most strict vegans would have an issue with that.

All I know is that at the end of that season of fasting and praying I had a conviction of aspiring to Garden-living that non-meat consumption would be my token offering to God in that wise. I know it was a conviction because I’ve not been in the slightest bit tempted since then to return to eating meat. Now that shift in my whole dietary lifestyle is an act of the spiritual and not natural. I did not force myself into it, it was not something that I needed will-power to maintain, it is almost as if a switch turned off that inclination.

You need to realise that I was an avid consumer of chicken and the meat patties my mother made still cause me to smile in pleasure at the memory, yet for all that I still don’t have yearnings for meat products at all. When loving-kind people waft beef-burgers, kebabs, fried chicken and the like under my nose they do not realise that it has no effect on me. I put that down solely and completely to the work of God and nothing of me, and as I’m intimating that came from a season of fasting and praying and exploring the Word and world of the Word.

Now I’m not suggesting like some kind of super-ad that fasting will radically change your life in this way. What I am saying though is that following Christ can take you places you never considered. An appreciation of the life of fasting is about personally seeking Christ and letting Him change and mould you in the light of that. If it has no personal application and significant impact there, then it is worth asking who’s leading you to fast or if it is just a ritualistic thing. This is not to say I’d get it at the time even after that life-altering event. There would be something however, that would really put a marker on how pivotal fasting is in the life of the believer.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Faster Than The Curious

You might have picked up on a theme in the titles in this series. I have to acknowledge the movie series starting Paul Walker and Vin Deisel for the inspiration for the titles. It just seemed to fit at the time. You’ll not though that in terms of titles from here on in I’ll have to be a bit more imaginative with some titles, so if you have any suggestions feel free to leave a comment.

Round up as ever and before entering this, the fifth part of the franchise, we began with my sheer ignorance to the subject. I’ve then established why this series is so important. Relationships as the key to growth was explored next and recently you read about how fasting opens your eyes to the riches found in the Word of God and how you can feast on that to your heart’s desire. It impacts corporate behaviour as I discovered at the time with quite a number of steers for direction coming through that session for prayer and fasting.

On arriving in the Stoke-on-Trent area in February 2000 I spent a considerable amount of time knocking around with Hughie seeing how he did ministry and that inevitably involved more times of fasting. I recall the first times I did it whilst doing volunteer work at Dr. Victor Pearce who had an office based in Hanchurch facility. Without the strict focus that was there for that groundbreaking weekend, the day seemed to drag and I did not have my mind set on whatever the purpose was for which I was to be fasting.

I even recall ignoring the advice I was given about the nature of the stomach as you fast shrinking. Thus it is important to ease back into eating with basic things rather than gorging on a big meal. One incident still makes me chuckle. The allotted time for fasting had finished and I was famished. A friend had bought in a healthy shipment of patties and they looked good to eat – even better to eat after the time of fasting. So despite the admonition of Hughie I set up for myself four of those patties to consume. No sooner had this task been completed than my groaning began. As I groaned and moaned, clutching my stomach and feeling unable to be of any use to anyone and any time in the near or distant future, Hughie mercifully laughed in my face at my folly. Lesson learnt. As the Bible probably would have said, reaffirming a Jamaican saying, ‘if you don’t hear, you’ll feel’.

A vital lesson also learnt at that time of fasting that is something so crucial to the exercise is that it is crucial to be focussed. Distractions come and go and so it is easy to think of other things are wander off and although you’re physically starving your mind is not on why you are in essence dedicating time to God. The benefit of the time is not in doing an act for God more as it is in what God chooses to share with you during that time and for that it is so crucial and so challenging to remain focussed.

Indeed this would be a recurring theme in a number of future endeavours and sometimes those benefits were obvious from the beginning, as others snuck up on me. In the next entry discover one of the first significant breakthroughs that personally allowed me to experience some of those benefits.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

The Fast For The Curious

The best stories don’t rush to the end but enjoy the journey keeping things interesting as we tick along. So thus far in this journey we’ve established the ignorant beginnings, discovered some fundamental reasons for the issue and the importance of relationships in getting anywhere with God. It’s not just about relationships the environment can be crucial as well as proved to be the case for this most crucial of episodes in the journey – we are in the city of Stoke-on-Trent … or at least near it.

United Christian Broadcasters were at the time based in a facility on the outskirts of the city called Hanchurch. The facility housed their recording studios, offices, canteen area, resource area and some decent quality overnight stay accommodation. Hughie worked here and managed to book some of the space and accommodation facilities for the group who expressed an interest in the national youth evangelism initiative. I recall it vividly because that weekend included Christmas Day and my dear friend, Kevin Shaw, celebrated the birth of his son around the same time.

The sessions that we had as we fasted awakened me to the vitality and dynamism of fasting. With no disrespect intended for previous experiences, I had never got the impression that it could be so riveting, interesting, aspiring, inspiring, challenging, invigorating and draining. Again because I was a novice I was only doing the fasting from morning to evening where others were going for the whole weekend. Unlike other occasions, though, we spent sessions creatively engaged in bible study and prayer.

I recall one landmark session was studying the episode of Gideon in the Judges 6 and also 7. We went through what lessons we could derive from it and its application to the evangelism initiative. I remember being amazed at just how much is ignored when we read scripture and how much juice there is in every verse. I was also caught up in those modern applications and how God is only looking for a few good men to accomplish His will so that the world will know that it is Him that has made it happen and not the ingenuity of man. It was such an impactful session as well as an impactful day that the thought of food or being hungry barely registered.

It was around this time as well that we watched a Transformations video (no, not that video) seeing the effects of the gospel in turning entire communities around from cesspits of sin to flourishing areas of economic vibrancy and social cohesion by the power of prayer and unity. I was captured by that vision and it definitely broadened my mind as to what ministry was all about.

It is something that still heavily influences our church approach to missions both at home and abroad. It is not just about only giving a word, or handing a leaflet to someone about how they need Jesus, but it is about a desire to see our community transformed by the power of God to be places of individuals delivered, families healed, businesses prospering, cultures coming together and peace being made by the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a lot more to the agenda than better church attendance – it is the natural consequence of making disciples and the social impact that has to have as a witness to the world of the glory of God.

I didn’t fully appreciate at the time how because I was feasting on the Word of God that I was fulfilling a basic requirement of fasting. It is not just the prohibition of food consumption but the active sole dedication of the mind and body to consumption of the things of Christ. It is physical affliction in line with a desperate need for God and God only.

Such was my excitement about the session of fasting that by the end of the weekend as I was planning to make my way back to London, Hughie and I conversed about things regarding both NYET and my media aspirations and we came to an agreement that it might be worth considering me moving up to Stoke-on-Trent … for good. That’s another story.

This started in earnest a new level of excitement about fasting, but little did I realise there was so much more fundamental lessons to learn. Lessons like some things to be aware of when fasting and how it is not just for church and project based purposes but it has significant personal implications as we shall discover in the next part of the series.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Fast For The Curious: Stokeyo Drift

Right so we’ve established my ignorant beginnings and the reason why this series is being written now as well as how I gained a level of consciousness about its importance.

To re-state for personal context purposes I’ve got baptised in February 1994 after taking a relationship with Jesus a bit more intentionally in the later summer of 1993. I’ve done the university thing from 1996-1999 and I’m just getting settled into London from August 1999 onwards. Things are looking good for me there. It’s a familiar place to me now, I’m feeling at home and building good relationships as well as getting involved in church activities. Surely everything was set for me to enjoy some good years in the capital city.

A number of factors merged to give me the opportunity of travelling up to Stoke-on-Trent. I had written a letter to someone I admire who was involved in Christian media up in the area. That letter was sent over a year previously and I’d almost forgotten about it as I settled in London after university.

I was involved in the Youth Anniversary for that year being asked to ‘preach’ a sermonette alongside some other brother (don’t worry Shane, I won’t expose you by mentioning your name here … oh hold on a minute ...). I have never been formally trained or personally mentored in the area of sermons. Having a knack of talking and being educated left most people assuming that I’d know what it is to preach and I’d be alright on any given occasion. Like a lot of the spiritual stuff that I’ve gone through, especially initially, it was mostly self-taught or Spirit-led without personal intervention – call it what you will.

I’ve never had the best recollection of that sermon, but I am my own worst critic. As well as the sermon, though, the rest of the day featured a presentation made by Hughie about a National Youth Evangelism initiative for which he was looking for volunteers. Thanks to my mentor at the time, Ritson Shields, I was already involved in an evangelism initiative and was exhilarated by the experience. Not sure if I’ve mentioned before that evangelism is not a natural passion for me – it has not bee something to which I am naturally drawn, but thanks to Ritson the interest was there and that was how I got involved in the local initiative.

Hughie was the dude to whom I’d sent the letter. Hearing him propose something on a bigger scale to what I was doing locally and a possible gateway to exploring the media I approached him and he recalled the letter sent to him sometime before. A fasting and planning weekend was scheduled for the end of the year in Stoke-on-Trent and so he said that would be a good time to discuss matters further.

This fasting weekend had enormous implications for my life. One aspect of that was my concept of fasting.

We’ll find out exactly what took place over that weekend that changed a substantial amount for me personally and spiritually in the next blog entry. What’s worth noting here though is just how crucial relationships are in our spiritual growth. As I mentioned earlier sometimes as new born Christians left to our own desires our initial excitement about God can peter out into a mundane double life of church attendance and mundane day to day living with a veneer of religiosity. God in His wisdom has given us men and women who model what it is to follow Christ and the Scriptures are replete with instructions for those relationships to be in place to encourage the whole Body to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Identifying these people may not always be easy, but it is definitely worthwhile. Meanwhile if you’ve done the trip for a while then you should be able to appreciate those who have not made the trip as yet as well as those new to the trip – the angst and issues of following Christ. Do me, them and most importantly God a favour and reach out to them if at all possible, befriend them, forbear them and contribute to their understanding of God that may lead to life-changing experiences as the Christ they see in you becomes a part of them over time.

Don’t forget to come back for more soon.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

2 Fast 2 Curious

So in yesterday’s introduction to this brief series on fasting we discovered that although I was born in a Christian background, with believers who knew about fasting, and although the denomination to which I belong had fasting as a regular practice it took me the best part of 20 years before I even managed to begin addressing fasting for myself. I started it in the old fashioned church sense thanks to knocking around with a friend when I was in London in the summer of 1997.

Now before I continue you could be asking that important question – why are you talking about fasting, now? What’s the big deal? Well as you’ve gathered I am fairly keen on following Jesus Christ. I believe He is Lord. I believe He died on the cross for the sins of the world and miraculously rose from the dead. I believe Him more than I’ve believed anyone or anything else even if my behaviour sometimes suggests otherwise. Now fasting played a significant part in the life of Christ and those of His followers. Thankfully better writers than I have covered just how significant fasting really is in the life of a believer.

For all that, though, I still get the impression that it is considered a useful option for the Christ-follower. In engaging people with faith in Christ, spiritual disciplines can tend to come across as rather onerous and difficult and with enough of those on the plate – bible study, prayer and the like – fasting is an occasional hazard that is avoided as often as possible or at least used as trivially and as ineffectively as possible. You should have gathered by now that this apathetic and indeed pathetic approach to fasting is something I am very familiar with – intimately familiar as it has been my experience.

Now I’ve not been converted into a zealous fast-evangelist who believes that if you do not fast you are no longer worthy of being called a Christian and grimaces at those who don’t do it three times a week. My journey is not one of a straight upwards tangent. The squiggles, ups and downs would resemble a work of art by my 4 year old daughter rather than the unreal good model of a Christian that just gets better. The bottom line for me remains; Jesus loved me so much that He died for a right relationship to be restored between me and the Father through Him.

He wants me to relate to Him by prayer. He wants me to be fruitful for Him by loving my church family and my enemies. In all this He wants me to value Him above everything and everyone else. He alone matters. Not my wife, not my siblings, not my parents, not my job, not the church, not my job, not my hobbies and interests and especially not me. These only have value in the light of the supreme value of Him. That’s not just rhetoric that has been my experience and most importantly that is the entire point of biblical narrative and relationship with God.

So a brilliant way that God helps us to keep this in mind is through fasting – it indeed can be used for medical/physical purposes, but spiritually speaking it is a powerful method of engaging with God with the depth of our being whilst subjecting our body to understand the number one priority of life.

This mapping of my journey into fasting is not a blame exercise it’s merely reflecting what happened to me so no indictment is meant to be implicit in what’s being said. Having said that one of the lessons I learn from the journey especially in the early days is how crucial it is to get help on even the basics of belief. It is not to force someone to fit your form of faith, but it is to help them establish disciplines with biblically based understanding of why they do what they do and how it is centred on Christ.

I think it was in 1998 or maybe 1999 when fasting took on a more serious bent towards specific activities. During this time, especially as 1999 rolled on and I finished university to settle in London, I got involved in activities where the praying and fasting were more focussed and a bit more information was given as to how to fast even if I had to be at work or whatsoever. I was also praying and fasting in preparation for things like the local evangelism initiative. This more purposeful approach to fasting would help considerably for the years that lay ahead. The real breakthrough in my appreciation for fasting took place at the end of 1999 …

And in the tradition of all good stories you’ll find out more about that in the next blog entry.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Fast and the Curious

I’m aware … I don’t know if you know … but I am aware that even on this very blog I don’t always come quick to fulfil my word. It’s not to say I don’t fulfil my word, it’s just that my original timescale for fulfilling it and the actual timing are somewhat skewed. Now I know you find that hard to believe, after all how can a man of my verbose nature struggle with time-keeping?? OK silly question, end of the day I’m not always prompt and don’t always make my deadlines but I guarantee you my heart is well into improving in this area so that when I say we will have this, then I say it knowing I will deliver – a bit like the Man I follow.

To give an example of what I’m talking about, check this entry last year giving an update on how I was. Note specifically the promise of something on Desperately Seeking God looking at fasting. So that was April, check what I say in May. It’s looking good, but not quite coming out on time. Now check what I say month later.

So there you go – good intentions, bit slow in matching it with outcomes … until now.

So I was not sure if I ever documented my journey in fasting but it’s worth putting it down in this series the first entry will be called … well you can read the title can’t you! For the benefit of the exercise the definition of fasting I’m using is the abstinence of food and drink for some spiritual purpose. More details will emerge as the blogs go on.

Fasting was fairly alien to me until I left home for university. Now hold on a minute, you might say … if you had an inkling about my upbringing. Your parents are Christian, no? You go to church, no? Your church does fasting, no? So … help me out here how does that work? Those kinds of questions could be buzzing around … or not – that depends on you right but I’m happy to air questions you may have asked in your head, it gives a base to answer them. So yes my parents are Christians and dedicated ones at that, not nominal types. The home church in which I grew up was into fasting … I think. It was never a big deal in my family and I never got the impression it was that big a deal in the church. As a result I didn’t make a big deal of it. In fact forget a big deal, it wasn’t a deal at all!

This changed in 1997 when I spent the summer with a family friend who was yet to become a personal dear friend (hey Reuben!). During my time with him, I went to the church observance of fasting on the first Sunday of every month. This was not a practice that I did back in my hometown church for whatever reason. This church practice was a meeting for a few hours to pray. It was not that memorable. In fact I couldn’t recall anything of great significance during that period about fasting and praying other than it being done and the great relief that took place when I could actually eat again. The fasting wasn’t for that long anyway, well it felt long but it was barely the day itself in which we fasted and other than the meeting itself my mind wasn’t really focussed on anything in particular during the time of fasting.

So that’s a starter for ten, find out more about my journey of fasting in the next blog where you’ll discover how things took a change the more I got involved in church stuff. You’ll also get to see how I grew in my understanding of just how important fasting is not just for church stuff but individual consequences. See the link that this had with some of my eating habits.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Comeback Kid Comes Back Again

Yeah, I feel bad that I’ve neglected this here blog for the best part of a month – it’s just not good enough following my desire to blog properly more often. Yet I know I am forgiven and the Lord truly does not want me to live in condemnation I’ll apply the godly sorrow principle and simply repent – which I begin in earnest with this entry.

First and foremost since the last entries which were LIVE from the Mission Shaped Ministry training, I’ve gone through an interesting time ‘on leave’! I’ve come out of it with a renewed desire to honour my Heavenly Father by pursuing His Son whole-heartedly by being led by His Spirit.

This evening I had a conversation with my sister who pointed out something really spot on when it comes to things like fasting. It’s so important when we learn something from God that we follow it through now and apply it now as there will come a time when we want to apply certain things or fall back on stuff we should have learnt ages ago and there will be nothing to go back to. The last thing we want to do is live in regret and so it’s almost as if God is getting us to make the most of our time now and activate the things we’ve heard from Him and store some stuff in the spiritual bank to make withdrawals when the chips are down. My own journey is that I’m between regretting not having done what I could have and missing out on making the most of where what I know could take me. So for the sake of the argument I’m just looking to take each day as it comes as though God wants me to live it to the full and witness the many opportunities He’s put to see His will come through in various situations.

Right – coming soon to this blog will be the study series I’m doing with CSD team on fasting part one provisionally entitled Desperately Seeking God or it could just as easily be called Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures. Look out for that among other blog initiatives that I hope to get up and running sooner rather than …

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd