Are You Kidding Me?
By Mike Lang
Ok, I get the Gather, Connect, Serve thing. (If Pastor Mark ever asks you what these three words mean, quickly tell him they describe The Journey’s intentional approach to introduce the broader community to God. Next, give him a big smile and a hug and run as fast as you can because the questions get harder from there).
Back to Gather, Connect, Serve... I get it. In fact, I not only “get it” but I have personally experienced the effectiveness of this approach and witnessed many people become disciples of Jesus as a result. My real question is, where is the word “FASTING” in this system?
I am now in the first few weeks of my first concerted fast and I feel I was bamboozled. To prevent future bamboozling, we should develop a more descriptive name for Fall40. Here are just some of my ideas using the Gather, Connect, Serve naming methodology.
· Give-Up, Can’t Have, and Surrender
· Grueling, Critical System Failure, Stupid Idea
· Grazing on Cardboard Scraps
· Giant Cavern in my Stomach
In reality, these thoughts are not too far off from my initial views on fasting. It was a form of devotion reserved for only the best Christian warriors. The best excuse I used was, “I am not worthy to sacrifice in the name of Jesus.” I thought I was very convincing.
Although I am young in my walk of faith, I now know that fasting is a form of devotion appropriate for all. More importantly, fasting is not limited to eating honey and locusts. For me, it is sweets. The amazing part of my first official fast is that it has been much easier than I feared. The breakthrough came when I realized that fasting is a time to allow God into our lives. This may sound simple but it took me awhile to figure it out. Practically, it works like this: I am halfway through the day and I start craving a sweet food. I stop. And then I begin to pray to God for his love and support. I offer him my gratitude and devotion.
Not only does the craving go away, but I have learned a meaningful way to introduce God into my life which has been a struggle. Fasting slows things down and allows me to reflect and share my appreciation for His love. Wow! Are you kidding me?
(We showed the "Killer Prayer Tips" video a few weeks ago at The Journey. Enjoy it all over again clicking on this link: http://www.sermonspice.com/product/27989/killer-prayer-tips)
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