The concluding chapter of Piper's book today. Why does God reward fasting. Piper's view is because ultimately it is demonstrating a reliance on God, which must bring glory to God, and that is what God is all about - bring glory to himself.
I'm not sure where I am with this view, but there is enough evidence in history to prove that fasting is rewarded by God to believe that my fasting for the people of Kibera will too be rewarded. How it is rewarded is not for me to say. So whether or not God brings his healing to the streets of Kibera, or he rewards my fast in some other way, and maybe even a way I never see, I still believe it will be rewarded.
So, where do I go from here? Next week I may review my notes on Piper's book, or maybe I'll look to the Bible for inspiration - I don't know. This fast has so far been a time of preparation fir me, and I'm not sure when I'll know i'm fully prepared, or at least as prepared as God wants me to be. If I'm too well prepared, I guess I may be tempted to try to do stuff in my own srrength, a course of action that is doomed to failure, and that I do not want to take, as it will bring NO glory to God.
But I think my spiritual state is much healthier for this fast, and that may be enough. After all, pretty much everything we've done at TP has been done by us relying on God, so why should this next step be any different. I guess it feels more important and significant because it's on the spiritual plane this time - the other aspects of our work are very much dealing with meeting the needs of the here and now, not eternal things of the soul.
So, I'm excited, a little bit scared, feeling out of my depth but knowing that God is with me. And still feeling compelled to go on.
I believe God's glory is going to be seen in Kibera in a big way! And that's why I'm doing it - for the glory of God.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
A work in progress
How great is my desire for God. Does my soul 'pant' for Him as in Psalm 42? Does my soul 'thirst' and my flesh 'yearn' for him - Ps 63? Do I count everything as loss compared to the value of knowing Christ - Phil 3:8?
No. I guess I don't.
Do I want to? Am I brave enough to say to God that nothing else matters, only Him? To put complete faith and trust in Him?
No.
But I'm closer to being able to honestly do that than I was a year ago. Even than I was a couple of months ago when I began fasting.
I guess I'm a work in progress, and though I may well never get to that point of complete, total and utter surrender of every part of me and my life to God and His purposes for me, and I will continue to be satisfied in some areas, to some degree, by things rather than by God, as long as I'm not accepting mediocrity, but always striving for more holiness, more of God in my life, I guess I'm going the right way at least.
No. I guess I don't.
Do I want to? Am I brave enough to say to God that nothing else matters, only Him? To put complete faith and trust in Him?
No.
But I'm closer to being able to honestly do that than I was a year ago. Even than I was a couple of months ago when I began fasting.
I guess I'm a work in progress, and though I may well never get to that point of complete, total and utter surrender of every part of me and my life to God and His purposes for me, and I will continue to be satisfied in some areas, to some degree, by things rather than by God, as long as I'm not accepting mediocrity, but always striving for more holiness, more of God in my life, I guess I'm going the right way at least.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Butterman!
Isaiah 58 today. A passage Jo and I know well, as it was instrumental in us setting up Turning Point originally. However, it's easy to skip over it now because of its familiarity, and that's not good.
Looking at it again today I've realised that some verses can be interpreted in more than one way; that there may be both a practical and spirutual aspect. 'To loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke.' v6. Some of this we as humans can do, and some we can go some way to doing, but some is for God alone. It is only He that can really 'set the oppressed free', true freedom is something that only God can provide. But we can partner with God, we can work at freedom from the chains that physically bind people.
And we can pray that God would free them from the cords that bind their spirit. That's what Monday's in Kibera are all about for me. Pleading with God for the souls of those forgotten or ignored by so many, but not by God. And v8 talks about the appearance of healing. I've always taken it to mean healing for the person fulfilling the right type of fast as prescribed in the previous couple of verses, but today I've been asking God to bring his healing to these overlooked and downtrodden people.
What's my part in this. To humbly submit myself to God, through my fasting to gain more of a hunger for holiness in all areas of my life, that when God remembers the people of Kibera and begins the transformation of their lives that I ling to see, I would be ready for whatever part in that God has for me.
My prayer is that whatever my part is I would be able to fulfil it humbly, giving ALL the glory to God. I am but a man. Or, to use my superhero persona, I am Butterman!
Looking at it again today I've realised that some verses can be interpreted in more than one way; that there may be both a practical and spirutual aspect. 'To loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke.' v6. Some of this we as humans can do, and some we can go some way to doing, but some is for God alone. It is only He that can really 'set the oppressed free', true freedom is something that only God can provide. But we can partner with God, we can work at freedom from the chains that physically bind people.
And we can pray that God would free them from the cords that bind their spirit. That's what Monday's in Kibera are all about for me. Pleading with God for the souls of those forgotten or ignored by so many, but not by God. And v8 talks about the appearance of healing. I've always taken it to mean healing for the person fulfilling the right type of fast as prescribed in the previous couple of verses, but today I've been asking God to bring his healing to these overlooked and downtrodden people.
What's my part in this. To humbly submit myself to God, through my fasting to gain more of a hunger for holiness in all areas of my life, that when God remembers the people of Kibera and begins the transformation of their lives that I ling to see, I would be ready for whatever part in that God has for me.
My prayer is that whatever my part is I would be able to fulfil it humbly, giving ALL the glory to God. I am but a man. Or, to use my superhero persona, I am Butterman!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
When, not If
I'm already starting to think about what happens come Christmas, when the time I've committed to fasting comes to an end. Will I continue? Or will the youthful (I wish) enthusiasm I have for fasting have worn off by then, and I'll be happy to return to a life where fasting is absent.
Wouldn't Satan love that?! The trouble is, I know myself too well, and know that may well be what happens. After all, I'm no different really from the millions of other Christians for whom fasting is something they read of and hear about, but that it's not really for them.
And doesn't Satan love that attitude?! Jesus doesn't talk about fasting much, but what he does say begins with the words "when you fast...". It's not "if you fast", but "when you fast". Clearly it's something He expects us, as Christians, to do.
So why don't we? Or why do we wait, as I've done, until a specific point in our life when we feel we need to go that bit deeper spiritually with God to actually follow Jesus' teaching and fast? If fasting really is a way of getting God's attention that we're serious about something, why do we do it so rarely? What would the spiritual landscape of this world look like if more Christians actually did what Jesus expects us to by saying "when"? Why are we so happy with mediocrity, when God wants so much more for us?
How many of us have friends or relatives who don't know Christ, that we'd love to know Him? Why not fast for them? If fasting is what puts an exclamation mark at the end of our prayers, why not do it more? Surely with an exclamation mark a prayer has more chance of being heard and paid attention to? I guess this begs the question, how many of us expect our prayers actually to be answered? How many of us are expecting God to move powerfully in response to our plea? Or are we just praying because we know we should, knowing that God will hear our prayer because it says so in the Bible, but fully expecting to pick the problem back up and shoulder the burden of it ourselves once the "amen" is said.
"Cast your burdens on to Jesus, for He cares for you", easy to sing, but too many times I've sung it, or prayed it about something specific, said thanks God, then picked up that burden again, and carried on my way. But if I want to live as Jesus intends me to live, I need to walk on without picking it up again. I need to turn my back on that burden, knowing that Jesus has it now. The reason I don't is because I don't really expect Jesus to solve my problems. To be with me through them, yes, but not to actually take them away.
But what I am finding through my fasting is that my expectations of Jesus are going up! So I am expecting Him to come in power into Kibera, to heal people, to deliver people, and generally to let the people of Kibera know that they can cast their burdens onto Him, because He does care for them.
And as our housegroup now fasts each week for different issues, I find that my expectations of answers to our prayers go up. I am surprised if God doesn't answer, not when He does.
So, will I continue after Christmas? Will I make fasting a regular part of my life? Will my level of expectation continue, or diminish?
Truth is, I don't know. I know what I'd like the answer to be, but I also know myself! I think I, and many others, often treat Christianity in a selfish way - we're following Jesus for what we can get out of it. And that in itself is not necessarily bad. It's just that we don't realise that the more we put in, the more we will get out.
Wouldn't Satan love that?! The trouble is, I know myself too well, and know that may well be what happens. After all, I'm no different really from the millions of other Christians for whom fasting is something they read of and hear about, but that it's not really for them.
And doesn't Satan love that attitude?! Jesus doesn't talk about fasting much, but what he does say begins with the words "when you fast...". It's not "if you fast", but "when you fast". Clearly it's something He expects us, as Christians, to do.
So why don't we? Or why do we wait, as I've done, until a specific point in our life when we feel we need to go that bit deeper spiritually with God to actually follow Jesus' teaching and fast? If fasting really is a way of getting God's attention that we're serious about something, why do we do it so rarely? What would the spiritual landscape of this world look like if more Christians actually did what Jesus expects us to by saying "when"? Why are we so happy with mediocrity, when God wants so much more for us?
How many of us have friends or relatives who don't know Christ, that we'd love to know Him? Why not fast for them? If fasting is what puts an exclamation mark at the end of our prayers, why not do it more? Surely with an exclamation mark a prayer has more chance of being heard and paid attention to? I guess this begs the question, how many of us expect our prayers actually to be answered? How many of us are expecting God to move powerfully in response to our plea? Or are we just praying because we know we should, knowing that God will hear our prayer because it says so in the Bible, but fully expecting to pick the problem back up and shoulder the burden of it ourselves once the "amen" is said.
"Cast your burdens on to Jesus, for He cares for you", easy to sing, but too many times I've sung it, or prayed it about something specific, said thanks God, then picked up that burden again, and carried on my way. But if I want to live as Jesus intends me to live, I need to walk on without picking it up again. I need to turn my back on that burden, knowing that Jesus has it now. The reason I don't is because I don't really expect Jesus to solve my problems. To be with me through them, yes, but not to actually take them away.
But what I am finding through my fasting is that my expectations of Jesus are going up! So I am expecting Him to come in power into Kibera, to heal people, to deliver people, and generally to let the people of Kibera know that they can cast their burdens onto Him, because He does care for them.
And as our housegroup now fasts each week for different issues, I find that my expectations of answers to our prayers go up. I am surprised if God doesn't answer, not when He does.
So, will I continue after Christmas? Will I make fasting a regular part of my life? Will my level of expectation continue, or diminish?
Truth is, I don't know. I know what I'd like the answer to be, but I also know myself! I think I, and many others, often treat Christianity in a selfish way - we're following Jesus for what we can get out of it. And that in itself is not necessarily bad. It's just that we don't realise that the more we put in, the more we will get out.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Is fasting contagious?
Another Monday, another fast day for me in Kibera. This being the 1st Monday of the month there are also many Turning Point supporters fasting and praying for God's future for TP.
Last week at homegroup I shared about why I was fasting, and they all decided to introduce a weekly time of prayer and fasting for issues that people within our group are facing. We are concentrating on one or two issues, and expecting to see answers - it's exciting!
Today in Piper's book I've been reading about the importance of learning from others in history who have incorporated fasting as a method of supporting the ministry they are involved in. And one thing I wasn't taught in history at school is that in 1756 the King of England called for a national day of fasting, to avert a threatened invasion by the French. It worked!
We are continuing our warfare prayer in Kibera, and several of us have experienced some spiritual attacks in the last few days, so we definitely need to continue this type of prayer. It's great to know that, through Jesus, we already have the victory!
I'll end this update with a thought, again from Piper's book:
Fasting puts the exclamation mark at the end of our prayer!
Last week at homegroup I shared about why I was fasting, and they all decided to introduce a weekly time of prayer and fasting for issues that people within our group are facing. We are concentrating on one or two issues, and expecting to see answers - it's exciting!
Today in Piper's book I've been reading about the importance of learning from others in history who have incorporated fasting as a method of supporting the ministry they are involved in. And one thing I wasn't taught in history at school is that in 1756 the King of England called for a national day of fasting, to avert a threatened invasion by the French. It worked!
We are continuing our warfare prayer in Kibera, and several of us have experienced some spiritual attacks in the last few days, so we definitely need to continue this type of prayer. It's great to know that, through Jesus, we already have the victory!
I'll end this update with a thought, again from Piper's book:
Fasting puts the exclamation mark at the end of our prayer!
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