Some reflections on Fasting

On Tuesday morning I finished my first ever fast…

Now anyone who knows me will know that I love my food. And you’ll also know that I’m pretty skinny and so can legitimately (it seems) indulge my passion! So fasting was an interesting excercise.

While I was sitting there, feeling the rumblings of an empty stomach my mind started to drift to a roast dinner – a sumptuous feast of roast pork, with crisp roasted potatoes, that are soft in the middle, roasted parsnip, soft at one end and crisp at the other, honey roasted carrots, yorkshire puddings, stuffing, a rich gravy and of course… crackling!!!

And as I was thinking about this I realised that my desire for that feast, which will fill me for a few hours, is so much greater than my desire for the feast that waits for us in the new heaven on earth. Jesus said that his disciples would fast when he was gone. There’d be a longing for his return. So I prayed that I would have a greater longing, a greater hunger for his return than I do for my next meal. If only we had such a hunger! If it’s anything even close to my desire for food then it’s going to be life changing, life-directing.

So is it worth it? Oh yes – if it makes me love Jesus more, see my need for God to sustain me and long for the day when Jesus will return with a hunger that will only be satisfied on that day then it is definitely worth it. Roll on next time…

Engaging with Culture :: Music – Part III

7 World-view Questions

1.What does the song reflect about being human? Imagine – John Lennon

2.How is evil portrayed? Black Magic Woman – Fleetwood Mac

3.Does existence have meaning? Hotel California – The Eagles

4.How does the song deal with the issue of love? The Greatest Love of All – Whitney Houston

5.How does it reflect relationships? Come Pick me up – Ryan Adams

6.Is there redemption in the song? Who needs saving/who is the Messiah? Sin, Sin, Sin – Robbie Williams

7.Does the song have hope when looking to the future? No woman, no cry (‘everything’s gonna to be alright’) – Bob Marley

Engaging with Culture :: Music – Part II

Making Connections
1. Between the song’s story and our story (narrative)

Since songs tell stories they fit into the overall picture that we looked at under the issue of films – creation/fall/redemption/consummation.

Bruce Springsteen in an interview talked about how Rock music is about longing – always talking about the girl over there, or the party somewhere else.
The job of the rock band, he says, is to take them into their world.
The problem in this situation (the fall) is being apart from this desired person/event. The music is the redeemer as it takes us to the place we want to be. Springsteen’s claim is that Rock music expresses the longings, not only of the singer but the audience. There is a deliberate link between the songs story and our story.

Engaging with Culture :: Music – Part I

Introduction

At one time music was classed based. Only the rich could see Opera, or hear and Orchestra. Whereas it was the working class who had folk music. Thus music could be quite divisive. But with the advent of recorded music, all genres have become accessible to everyone. This isn’t to say music can’t be used divisively (just look at most national anthems!), but there is something more democratic about music, even more so now with internet making vast amounts of music available without having to buy whole albums.

You can hardly move in the modern western world without being confronted with some music, whether it’s Pan Pipes play Simon and Garfunkel in a lift, or the radio at work, or the busker on the street.

Since music is so prevalent, and as we shall see has a very important role to play in human society, how are we to engage with music as Christians?

Looking for redemption?

Check this out from ER…

Fasting :: Some Studies in Matthew

Below is some teaching I’m doing this morning in our team about fasting… It’s based mostly on John Piper’s book on the subject…

Fasting :: Some studies in Matthew

1. Fasting… expresses our dependence on God and reveals our idols

Matt 4:1-4

 How do you feel when you are hungry?

Are there other things without which you find it hard to function?

 Read Matt 4:1-4

 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

 

Jesus had just been baptised. At his baptism God declares that Jesus is his son, with whom he is pleased. These words echo Psalm 2:7 where David, the greatest King of Israel and her representative, is described in such a way. Not only is the representative of Israel described in this way but Israel herself is too, for instances in Exodus 4:22. God declares Jesus to be his Son, the ‘true’ Israel. 

As ‘Israel’ Jesus then goes through the same testing as Israel went through in the desert. Israel spent 40 years in the desert on the way to the promised land having been rescued from Egypt by God. Jesus likewise is led into the desert and spends 40 days there. Then Satan comes to tempt him. Jesus replies by quoting the Old Testament, and more specifically Deuteronomy. In v4 he quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 8 where Israel are being reminded about their time in the desert. 

Like Jesus the people were going hungry in the desert. They had no food or water.