Dear friend in Christ,

Our 40 days of fasting and prayer to seek the Lord for 2015 has come to a close, and I am deeply grateful to you for joining with me on this journey.  I have been blessed and encouraged by the devotionals, and, as usual, fasting has helped me draw closer to God.  

How do I know when the Holy Spirit is active and present in my life?  What must I do to engage in the Spirit-filled life?  What sorts of criteria may I employ to recognize and discern the leading of the Spirit as I follow Jesus in faith?  Such questions are no less crucial for being so prevalent among earnest Christians who desire to please the Lord and experience His grace in power.

“Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!  He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.’” - Ruth 4:14-15

The apostle Paul famously engaged the citizens of Athens in his pursuit of proclaiming the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire. 

Acts 17 records:

So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.  Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.  - Acts 17:17, 18 (ESV)

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 4:6

As we fast, many of us are asking God to show Himself. We want God to reveal Himself to us and show us who He is. This is certainly not unique to human experience. If people are given the chance to ask God a question, many simply wonder, “Where are you?” We wonder, “If you’re present everywhere, if you love us and want a relationship with us, then why don’t we hear from you?” Fasting promises insight into God’s hiddenness. In many ways, we are like Moses in Exodus 34. Moses, wanting to know this God who has led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and is taking them to the Promised Land, asks God to show him His Glory.

My three teenage daughters, much like the college students I know, live in a state of almost constant sleep deprivation due to the pressure of extracurricular activities and academics.  Breaks in the schedule, such as the one we just had over Christmas, provide welcome opportunities to catch up on sleep.  Slumber is perhaps more desired than anything under the Christmas tree!

We know our bodies need rest, and anyone who has battled insomnia knows that a good night’s sleep is a blessing from the Lord.   But we’ve also all experienced that too much sleep can make us lethargic and dull.  Spiritual sleepiness is the counterpart to the physical manifestation, and Scripture is full of warnings against it, such as: “awake, O Sleeper!” (Ephesians 5:14), “wake up from your slumber!” (Romans 13:11), and “wake up from your drunken stupor” (1 Corinthians 15:34).  In Revelation 3, in the word to the church in Sardis, this sobering judgment is given by the angel:

Dear Friend in Christ,

I am wondering what sort of season this is for you. If it is one of prolonged hardship, I understand it can be especially challenging to hope in God’s goodness.

For this reason, I want to share with you about a very unique sort of healing offered to those who are struggling to persevere in times of trial.

Concerned for his weary congregation, the author of Hebrews writes:

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed” (Hebrews 12:12-13).

Although the apostle Paul did not write Hebrews, the theological viewpoints of the two authors are often remarkably similar. This theological consonance is seen especially in Hebrews 12 and Romans 8. The overall theme of both chapters is that of suffering. Specifically, both authors claim that, far from evidencing God's removal from and lack of concern for us, suffering is the very means by which we prove to be God's own sons and daughters:

"It is for discipline that you have to endure [suffering]. God is treating you as sons.” (Heb 12:7a)

Thus says the LORD of hosts: “‘Ask the priests about the law: ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of the garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’”  The priests answered and said, “No.”  Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?”  The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.”  Then Haggai answered and said, “So it is with this people…” –Haggai 2:11-14a

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.  And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” –Luke 19:5-8

Day 30

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them...” - Matthew 6:1

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.” - Matthew 6:5

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites...” - Matthew 6:16

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."  - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, ESV

In 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul asks the Corinthian church to keep their pledge to financially help poor Christians in Jerusalem.  These and the following verses yield valuable insight into understanding money.  Few issues in our lives are more important for our godliness than handling money well.  Often our prayers and fasting can have little sway with God, in part, because we are not living in conformity with God’s principle of sowing and reaping.

“You’re all that, and a bag of chips!” Echoing from the halls of my childhood memories, I can still hear the preacher, in dramatic fashion, proclaiming this statement to the congregation. Like much of the Christianity practiced in our contemporary culture, the intended purpose of the phrase was to combat low self-confidence by infusing a sense of self-worth and value. On the one hand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with acknowledging the inherent worth and dignity that human beings possess as image-bearers of the one, true, and living God – such is an amazing truth! However, as Christians we understand that the central message of the Bible is predicated on another truth – a devastating one. The humanity that formerly held preeminent status in God’s “very good” creation has fallen. Sin and death now comprise the human condition. Simply put, we’re not “all that.” In commenting on the Fall’s effect and God’s judgment on human nature, Donald Macleod once stated, “The [human] race needs a redeemer, but cannot itself produce one.” In light of this dilemma, the person and work of Christ becomes not only all the more necessary but all the more glorious. This season of prayer and fasting is a demonstration that we understand our own fallenness, frailty, and finitude, and that Christ is our only hope. It is a demonstration of our desire to experience more of Him.

In a November 2014 op-ed titled “On Thanksgiving Day, Remember Fast Day,” Dean Grodzins, visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Historical Society and a research associate at Harvard Business School, traced the little-known history of Fast Day in the American historical memory. Grodzins writes:

“Around 1740 . . . the New England colonies (except for Rhode Island, which always went its own way) began observing regular annual fasts and thanksgivings, corresponding to the local agricultural year. Fast Day was held typically in April; farmers were in effect asking for God’s forgiveness and blessing before they planted. Thanksgiving was held in November, to show God gratitude for the harvest. Only at this time did Thanksgiving come to be associated with a feast.”