Today's as Good a Day as Any

For whatever reason, I have let my blog go by the wayside. It's not that I decided not to blog anymore...it's not even that I lost interest in blogging. More than anything I just let other things in my life/schedule crowd out my blog.

But today's as good a day as any to reignite my blog!

Beginning tomorrow, February 1, through Sunday, March 11, the church I pastor (www.hilldale.org) is entering a 40-day season of prayer and fasting for spiritual breakthrough. I believe with all my heart that God has prompted me to lead our church in this unprecedent move (unprecedented for us, that is). As part of my fasting, I am "going dark" on Facebook and Twitter for those 40 days. As of midnight tonight, I will be silent and unreachable via those social media.

Fasting is a largely misunderstood and neglected discipline of the Christian faith...and perhaps it's neglected because it's misunderstood. When we generally refer to fasting, we think of abstaining from food...and for good reason. But fasting can encompass more than food. The apostle Paul urged husbands and wives, for instance, not to deprive one another of sexual intimacy "except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer" (1 Corinthians 7:5). That's a form of non-food fasting.

Fasting is more about one's heart than about self-denial or food. And with that being the case...the purpose is not to be hungry, per se, but to increase one's hunger for God. The purpose is not self-denial that leads to pride but self-denial that leads to humility. The purpose is not to focus on what we're giving up but what we're gaining. Once again, fasting is more about one's heart than about self-denial or food.

Across these 40 days I plan to blog encouragement and information that I pray will make the 40-day journey of fasting more beneficial to our church family. Perhaps the reach of these blog posts will reach beyond my particular faith family, and that'll be alright. :-)

One last thing--I'm not asking people to stop eating for 40 days. The number 40 is significant in the Scriptures, no doubt, and that's why we're doing this challenge for that length of time. But the goal is for everyone to participate...at some level...in some way...perhaps by fasting one day a week for this whole period. Across the 40 days, I'm trusting that somebody will be fasting on each of the 40 days. I don't have to know who they are or what they're doing. Fasting is between an individual and God. Period. But we can collectively fast, and we're doing just that for the purpose of spiritual breakthrough...in our hearts and our homes and our church.

Some have said, "Pastor, I've never fasted and I don't know that I can." Try this--fast for one meal. Spend that time in prayer and the Word. Let God speak to your heart. Let the hunger that you feel drive you into God's presence. Once you discover you can fast from one meal, try two. Then attempt fasting for a day! You can do it! When I fast, I do it as I understand that Jesus would have done it--I fast from supper, breakfast, and lunch (in that order). So I might fast from 5:00 p.m. to the same time the next day.

You can do this!

I really believe spiritual breakthrough is coming...!