Will You Join Me Starting Tomorrow?

Beginning tomorrow I am inviting you to join me in an act of commitment and dedication.  On Wednesday December 14, the 40 day countdown begins until we move Sunday morning worship services to the High School Theatre, and in preparing my heart and in preparing your own I am inviting you to join me in a partial fast over the next 40 days. 

Throughout the Bible fasting is practiced as a part of someone’s deepening faith walk.  It is never commanded of believers, but it is always encouraged and often the book of Acts tells us the early church committing to fast often.

We normally associate fasting with food, because that is what we read about most in the Bible regarding fasting.  Intentionally restricting the body from food for a certain period of time and refocusing one's "physical" hunger towards a "spiritual" hunger for the presence of God, prayer, and His Word.  But the act of giving up anything for a period of time so that God has more of our attention is considered a fast. 

There are different kinds of fasts. Sometimes an individual will fast for just one meal, sometimes for just a day or two, or sometimes for an extended period of time.  This 40 day fast that I challenged you with on Sunday is not an entire fast of all your food for 40 days. It is a PARTIAL FAST.  This means that you do 3 things to prepare yourself:

1. Take a personal inventory of your life and identify the things that you value or the things that you enjoy and write them all down.  
2. Then begin to reflect upon the list and ask the question... "Which things on this list are a competitor with God for my attention?" 
3. Finally make the decision. "Which one or two things will I put away 'in a drawer' for the next 40 days to instead pour that time into more intentionally developing my relationship with Jesus Christ?"

There is the freedom to fast from just about anything you can think of, and here are a few examples:

• SPECIFIC FOODS: Meat, soda, coffee, sweets, dessert, etc.  A slight restriction to your cravings so that when it makes itself known you can turn that hunger towards Christ.
• HOBBIES/ENTERTAINMENT: TV, Going to Movies, Facebook, Internet, Video Games, Texting, etc.  Committing to replace some of the time you spend "relaxing" and focusing it instead on "refreshing" by spending it reading God's Word a little more.
• INACTIVITY/LAZINESS: Some people will fast from laziness and inactivity knowing that their body is God’s temple and make a point to exercise as a part of their daily devotions and commitment to God, working out their body as a part of working out their soul.
• ADDICTIONS: Alcohol, drugs, pornography, gossip, smoking, etc. Many individuals have found victory for the first time through fasting in faith that God would help them to break a terrible addiction, not content to be ruled by that hunger any longer. Fasting can be a great catalyst to finding personal victory over addictions by seriously choosing to fast from something that is destructive to your health, your family, your marriage, and your relationships.
• ANYTHING YOU CHOOSE TO SET ASIDE:

The struggle in fasting is that we can feel tempted to focus our attention and energy on "what it is that I love and am giving up", but the true goal of fasting is to take our eyes off of the day to day things in this world and commit to focus our attention on God.  It is a private but visible demonstration to God that we are very "serious" about our relationship with Him.

It does not require a hyper-spiritual or emotional experience to feel "led" to fast.  It is simply a commitment before God to demonstrate who is the true owner of your heart and life.  So, I invite and ask you to join me over the next 40 days to walk together down the path we are on with great intentionality and focus through the act of fasting.

Who knows the places of growth you might witness over the next 40 days if you respond to this opportunity!!