Lessons learned from Fasting

Today I am ending a fast that started two week ago. As I began fasting I my close friends were asking me how long will you go , and I said " I don't know, I am hoping 40 days." Yes I wanted to be like Moses and Jesus. Fourteen days later, it is time to end. I do not know if I will ever fast for 40 days, I hope to someday, but that is up to God not me.

I never thought about fasting until 1997 when I read "The Celebration of Disciplines" By Foster. If you are Christ follower who desiress to learn tools that will deepen your walk with Jesus, then this is a good rescource for you.

I was drawn into the fast on my 36th birthday. Needless to say there was no big party, and no german chocolate cake. The reason I was drawn into the fast: There were some major issues in the lives of people that I have counseling, some things in my life, and some major issues that were affecting the church where I serve.

During the last 14 days I learned that I truly did turn to food for comfort instead of God (idolatry), that some demons need to be prayed over with prayer and fasting to get them out of people's lives and out of churches.. I gained greater insights into the things that I needed as a pastor to take authority over in my flock, and in my life. As the fast is ending I am realizing that we need to praise God continually as we are "praying without ceasing"

The scariest moment for me was when God was telling me to preach a different sermon than the one that I prepared for that week. I am propably you average joe pastor. We spend abotu 15-20 hours a week working on the sermons that god wants us to preach on Sundays. The time includes prayer, study, more prayer, practice, more prayer, honing our spirt's to listen to the Spirit, plus writng the sermon itself. That Sunday morning I had to trust God and the Divine Spirit to direct my words,to literally talk while I was the vessel. Needless to say there was a lot of wrestling in my soul, on that weekend, until I finllay preached HIS sermon. The subjuct that was covered "Tradition vs following God's word and If our hearts belong then why are they difiled?" - Matthew 15: 1-28, Collisians 2:6- 3:17

Needless to say that is was a toe stomper and butt kicker. People including me needed to repent of followign the idea's and traditions fo men, more that the word of God. That is hard to do when you have been in a church for years instead of being a church . Needless to say it is what God's people needed to hear, and we had a prayer of repentence at the end.

"You cannot be a Christian and be comfortable with your sin" - Holy Spirit

There is a lot of truth in that. We cannot be a Christ-follower, someone who is claiming to follow Jesus and then think that our sin is no big deal. It doesn't work that way. Our sin is what put him on the cross. Our sin is what cost him his life, what made him be torutred, whipped, spit on, etc. That was your sin, that was my sin, and he went through all it becasue he loves me.

Jesus loves you. This is the greatest thing that I have learned through my fasting. Jesus loves me. Above everything else that is what I needed to be reminded of, that si what I needed to hear, that si what I needed to learn. Jesus love you _______(insert your name)

Jesus loves me.

Think about it, meditate on it, go away by yourself, and just open yourself up to the reality of Jesus and his insane love for us.

Jesus love me.

Say it to yourself, say it out loud, say it proud, "Jesus loves ME!"

and then enjoy being his friend, and living like it.
M