Pastor Barry gave us a devotion from Mark 4, the story of Jesus calming the storm. The imagery he brought out was that instead of taking what life sends our way--the storms and waves--our eyes need to be focused on our Savior, standing at the front of the boat, who has the power to calm all of those things, and carry us through. Our task as a church and as Christians is to have the faith to look to him at all times, not only the crises.
In my mind, communion was the wonderful way to begin and end our fast. We started by taking communion as a church together, and ended the same way, coming forward beneath the cross to acknowledge that we cannot do this journey on our own. We need our brothers and sisters beside us, and we need the power and leading of Christ above all.
As a side note, I also want to say that although the official fast has ended, that doesn't mean that we need to go back to how things were before. In fact, I hope we are unable to get back to that place in our life, and in the life of our church. I pray that God would give us his discipline to keep him before any of the distractions that keep us from hearing his voice. Let our spirits continue to fast from everything that is not the living Christ.
Coupled with my fast(s) from the media and the internet, a buddy and I set out to read through the Bible this year. What a wonderful joy to be in the word daily! Of course, the schedule we are following began with Genesis and is leading us now through Deuteronomy. I cannot say that I often open the Bible up to Deuteronomy, or Leviticus and Numbers for that matter. Amongst these chapters are a burdensome bunch of laws for which the penalty of non-compliance was often death.
ReplyDeleteI frequently stop to ponder the enormity of it all.
In these few books God defines the establishment of religious and ceremonial law. He defines how a theocratic government should run. How courts should administer justice, enforce commandments, allow for exceptions and if necessary, punish those who violate the commands.
The realization hits that, had I been living under these laws and held to this standard – I would find myself beneath a mound of stones somewhere in Israel. In staggering detail, these words of Moses are quite sobering, and altogether awesome!
As I continue in Duet 17, Moses describes the choosing of a King, where at verse 18 he states that ‘When he (that is the King) takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he - and his descendants - will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel’.
I came out of my media fast to rejoin the endless turmoil of the news (actually not much changed in the month of my fast). The Democrats are arguing with Republicans over the laws our congress issues, and then frequently exempts themselves from. I wonder what it would be like if our leaders were as passionate for the laws of God instead! I just read Gods admonishment that the King not ‘lean to the right or to the left’ in Deuteronomy?! What irony! Almost like reading the news…
Then my eyes jump to a news story that several Christians have been murdered by Islamic extremists for the crime of ‘heresy’; reading the Bible! They are dead because they were reading the Bible! Isn’t it amazing?
We have the privilege to do what so many still dying for! Last year over 160,000 were martyred for doing simply that! Just for reading this book! This is not something that only happened in the middle ages. It’s happening now! Dare we take our Bibles for granted? What an amazing blessing it is to be free to both possess AND read the Bible!
I am sharing a privilege once given only to Kings. Oh to be free to read and ponder the word of God daily! I am indeed – a very blessed man… (You wanna join me?) - Bob