It is Thursday already! Over the half way point in the week. How has your week been? Have you had a chance to begin to Lectio Divina or to slow down and chew on God's Word? His Word! It is incredible, it is always there to teach if we just give it the time. Yes, there has been much to absorb this last week. For some it is all new, for others it is a refresher. May we continue to have teachable hearts and a passion to discover His Truths! These entries make reference to what we are learning in His word. You might ask, "But we haven't done that yet!" You are right but the time is coming to apply these lessons so please hang on! Pastor John will be introducing another spiritual discipline with this entry so let's begin!


"I rejoice in your word like one who finds a great treasure. . . Those who love your law have great peace and do not stumble." (Psalm 119:162, 165)

I pray that you are rejoicing in what God is teaching you in His Word. A 'great treasure'. . . what if that was our attitude every single time that we opened the Bible, 'Wow, I'm about to discover a great treasure! I'm gonna be rich!!'

I hope that you also enjoyed the Ignatian method of devotional reading.

Today I want to add to our disciplines.

Fasting

One of the most powerful ways to enhance our 'spiritual hearing' is through the discipline of fasting. Fasting, like solitude, is one of the ways that we clear our minds of distraction seeking to focus on hearing and experiencing God.

John Wesley said: "First, let fasting be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in heaven." (Foster, p.55)

In a dry season not too long ago I was meditating on fasting and I wrote this: "Lord, you are showing me how undisciplined my life is - like an athlete who rarely trains but eats a lot of pizza and stays up late watching TV. And not that discipline draws me near to You, but it clears the path of those distractions that keep me from you." Can you relate?

Fasting helps us to pull ourselves from that which we physically depend on the most - and to attach ourselves to Jesus. Thomas a Kempis said: "Unless a person be disengaged from all creatures, he cannot with freedom of mind attend divine things. For that is the cause why there are so few contemplative persons to be found, for that few can wholly withdraw themselves from things created and perishing . . . And unless a man be elevated in spirit, and freed from all creatures, and wholly united to God, whatever he knoweth, and whatever he hath, is of no great importance."

Many times when it comes to fasting we get too caught up in what we are missing, or following the precise 'fasting rules and regulations.' Fasting is simply giving up something that we depend on for the purpose of giving ourselves more completely to God.

Fasting food can be done for a meal, or a day, or 3 days (please be wise and begin with a couple of meals before trying to fast for a more lengthy period). It can be giving up something you will really miss or something you depend on. [I highly recommend the Optional Training this week as Foster does a great job talking more about the details of fasting.]

I'll be honest. Nobody I know, including myself, 'enjoys' fasting from a physical perspective. It's hard. But remember the ultimate goal of fasting is to make us more attentive to Jesus and give Him glory. That makes it all worth it!