Observing LENT: Has anyone ever died from fasting?

Two weeks ago, Ash Wednesday began the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter. The idea behind Lent fasting is to identify with the sufferings of Christ.  According to a Barna survey, 30% of Lent observers fast food or drink, 28% fast meat, 28% sugar.

Although I can appreciate the intent of Lent fasting, I am not an observer.  Someone will have to convince me that suffering the loss of sugar for 5 ½ weeks is tantamount to the travail of Jesus. Admittedly, it is easier to skip a meal every day for a month than “pick up your cross daily!” Our highest call, according to Paul, is to be conformed to Christ's death (Phil 3:10; 1 Pet. 4:1). 

The true disciple's fast is not seasonal—but a lifetime of daily self-denial. Fasting one’s self is Jesus' mandated method for attaining more of His life and vitality. Has anyone ever died from this fast? Yes. Paul did: I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20). But, listen to this: if we die with Him, we shall live like kings with Him (2 Tim 2:11-12, edited). 

“The OSTEENification of American Christianity.”

Hank Hanegraaff of CRI has published a book, “The OSTEENification of American Christianity” in which he calls Joel Osteen the “provocateur of a seductive brand of Christianity that reduces God to a means to our ends… a fast-food Christianity that’s long on looks but dreadfully short on substance.”

“Why give so much attention to Joel Osteen; isn’t he harmless?” you say. Think about this. Joel Osteen is THE public face of evangelical Christianity. Not only the leader of America’s largest church, he is the most listened to preacher on the planet. His influence is almost unparalleled.

Joel's message is not pure Gospel, but a politically correct, inclusive, positive-thinking philosophical mix which non-Christians, even Buddhists and Hindus, find appealing. How unlike the exacting call of Jesus, who thinned out the crowds with His “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). Jesus' call to self-denial has been Osteenified into believe in yourself.

Get Your Ashes in a Flash!

After I had written my post yesterday about Ash Wednesday, I read the following story: Episcopalians are administering Ash Wednesday at train stations, bus stops and subways. “Five years ago,” reports the Rev. Teresa Danieley, “I had an epiphany of sorts. If people can grab breakfast on the go, why shouldn’t they be able to get their ashes in a flash?" Her idea grew into the “Ashes to Go” program—now bicyclists, drivers and bus passengers have a convenient way to be smudged by the sign of the cross. 

While I can't fault the Episcopalians for taking their ministry to the streets (after all, Jesus didn't confine Himself to the Temple), it seems strangely incongruent with Jesus' message to “COME! Pick up your cross.” Is it possible "Ashes to Go" trivializes the meaning of the Cross?  A.W. Tozer's words of 50 years ago are very relevant today.

“The new cross says ‘come and get.’ Whereas the old rugged Cross says, “Come and give.” Whereas the old Cross was meant by God to be the symbol of death and detachment from the old Adam life, this new substitute cross does not intend to slay the sinner but just redirect him. The new cross lets Adam live without interference [or interruption]. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for himself."  Smudging people with the sign of the cross on Main Street may be one more sign of the times.

It's not just any Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, which begins the 40-day discipline of Lent for many Christians (more common to Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans): a time of fasting, prayer, and self-examination before Resurrection Sunday. While the “holiday” is not to be found in the Bible (neither is Christmas or Easter), it seems to me the sentiment it carries is cross-centered: a time for Christians to identify with the sufferings of Christ.

Unfortunately, the day before Ash Wednesday is “Fat Tuesday,” the last day of Mardi Gras—an oddly pagan celebration devoted to overindulgence and revelry before the days of deprivation begin. For those who practice such licentiousness leading up to Lent, it is the greatest of hypocrisies. And perhaps for that reason, many of us who grew up non-Catholic never participated in Lent. But I think we may have “thrown out the baby with the bathwater” [forgive the expression].

The basic idea of Lent is rooted in the Lord's 40 days in the wilderness and temptation by Satan.  So Lent reminds us how Jesus was tempted in all ways like as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15). Now who can fault that! And what better time than these days leading up to Easter to examine ourselves to see if we are being faithful to His calling (2 Cor. 13:5; 2 Pe. 1:10).  It seems to me that Lent is not an event as much as it is a state of mind to be cultivated—on any Wednesday.

HE CALLS US TO SEE IT THROUGH, by David Wilkerson [edited version]

Christ knew many of his followers would not have what it took to see them through. He knew they would turn back and not finish the race. I believe this is the most tragic condition possible for a believer—to have started out fully intending to lay hold of Christ, to grow into a mature disciple and become more like Jesus and then to drift away. Such a person is the one who laid a foundation and could not finish because he did not first count the cost. (Luke 14:28-30)

I know that many who read this particular message are in the process of pausing or taking a step backward. It may seem like a small step, but it will cause a swift descent away from his love. If this is true of you, realize the Holy Spirit is calling you all the way back—back to repentance, self-denial and surrender. And at this very moment, time is a big factor. If you ever intend to lay hold of Christ, do it now; see it through!

You can read this devotion in its entirety online at: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/devotions/2010/he-calls-us-to-see-it-through

Have You 'CROSS'ed the Jordan?

On this Monday before Easter, may I encourage you to reflect on the subject question?

How was Israel’s Jordan River crossing different from the Red Sea crossing? While the Red Sea pictures our salvation; the crossing of the Jordan represents our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. God parted the Red Sea for their deliverance from their old life. The parting of the Jordan opened up their new life, and required their active participation.

Not until Israel’s Priests stepped into the Jordan did the waters divide. Those who follow Jesus into the waters of death and resurrection must take the first step of faith. Like Abraham who took the first step by leaving friends and family, or Peter whose first step was getting out of the boat, or the lame man whose first step was to get up, and pick up his bed. Conversely, the rich young man was unwilling to take the first step of faith by giving away all his possessions.

The Jordan crossing is a metaphor for baptism in the waters of “self-denial” and subsequent new life in Christ. Jesus calls committed disciples to leave all behind to follow Him. Crossing the Jordan is picking up your cross—taking your place with Jesus, to die to your own will. Like the Israelites we are to leave our WILL back in the Wilderness. As you approach Easter Sunday, ask yourself ‘Have I really CROSSed the Jordan?’ (Ro.6:4)

Will You be Observing Lent?

Are you observing Lent this year? If you are non-Catholic evangelical, you may not observe it. But many non-Catholics do. There is certainly nothing wrong with the purpose of Lent: the preparation of the believer — through prayer and self-denial — for Easter's Passion Week. Traditionally, Lent lasts forty days, thus imitating Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days of self-denial through prayer and fasting.

Yesterday, I mentioned Pope John Paul’s practice of self-mortification. Perhaps you are quick, as I was, to dismiss it as ‘human’ effort to attain righteousness. But the Bible does command us to deny the self, even, as Paul said, to die daily. The word “mortify” means to discipline one's body and physical appetites by self-denial or self-inflicted privation. Isn't that biblical? Paul tells us he “beat his body” into submission (1 Cor. 9:27). I don’t think Paul flailed himself with a whip but the word “beat” means “to beat black and blue.”

While Paul warns against those who teach “self abasement and severe treatment of the body” as a means to fight the flesh (Col. 2:23), he enjoins believers to suffer the loss of all things in order to know the fellowship of Christ's sufferings (Phil. 3:8, 10). At a minimum, “putting off the old self” means no longer living by your sinful flesh. But does it not also include denying ourselves ‘creaturely comforts’ that keep us from complete devotion to Jesus? We don’t deny ourselves these things to become righteous; we keep our appetites under control because it is our grateful heart’s response to the grace of God. We deny ourselves certain indulgences because we are afraid we may love them more than we love Jesus (1 John 2:15). Might that be what Pope John Paul was trying to do? Is that not the spirit of Lent?

Almost 300 years ago, Puritan writer John Owen wrote: “mortify your flesh and moderate your desires.” Now that sounds like a good standard to live by. And not just during Lent, but every day.

Why Did the Pope Sleep on the Floor?

A new book about Pope John Paul II (“Why He’s a Saint?”) says he whipped himself with a belt, slept on the floor, and denied himself food as acts of penitence to bring him closer to Christian perfection. Of course such acts of self-denial cannot produce righteousness (Col. 3:23). But I would like to think these private acts of contrition were disciplines the Pope deemed necessary to humble himself, and fight the spirit of pride, as someone esteemed by his church to be the greatest man alive.

Jesus declared John the Baptizer to be the greatest man who ever lived: "among those born of women there is no one greater than John" (Luke 7:28). John’s wilderness lifestyle, rough clothing, and simple diet of locusts and honey was remarkably strange, yet strangely appropriate to his message of repentance and self-denial. To accomplish his mission, he had to be committed to singular obedience—a life of self-denial and self-abnegation. What if his lifestyle had not matched his message?

Are we not a little confused, even disappointed, when our leaders’ lifestyles (excessive wealth, immodesty, over-indulgence) do not seem to match their message? One of the greatest men who ever lived, the Apostle Paul, took great care to assure his lifestyle matched his message of Godly discipline and self-denial: “I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Cor. 9:27).

As you come to realize God’s specific purpose for your life—whether you are called to be a public leader or a silent servant—consider your lifestyle. Take care that it matches your message.

The Way of the Cross, by Zac Poonen

Jesus, as our Forerunner (One Who has run the same race ahead of us), has opened a way for us to enter the Father's presence and dwell there all the time. This way is called "the new and living way" (Heb.10:20).

Paul speaks of it as "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus" (2 Cor.4:10). He once said, as his personal testimony, that he was crucified with Christ and lived himself no longer. It was Christ that now lived in him because he himself had died on Calvary. This was the secret of his amazing life and usefulness to God.

Jesus once said that no one would be able to follow Him, unless he decided to deny himself DAILY and to die to himself DAILY (Lk.9:23). It is impossible to follow Jesus if we don't deny ourselves daily. We may be cleansed in Christ's blood, have received the Holy Spirit and have a deep knowledge of the Word. But if we don't die to ourselves daily, we cannot follow the Lord Jesus.

The way of the cross is the way of spiritual progress. If you are not overcoming sins like anger, irritation, impatience, lustful thinking, dishonesty, jealousy, malice, bitterness, and the love of money etc., the answer lies here: You have avoided the way of the cross. A dead man does not stand up for his rights. He does not fight back. He does not care about his reputation. He will not take revenge. He cannot hate anyone or have a bitterness against anyone. This is what it means to die to Self.

[The foregoing is in excerpt from: http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/word_for_the_week.php?display=01_05&year=06]

Do You Ever Hate Yourself?

Do you ever do something stupid that just makes you hate yourself? If you have read my book, you know that I struggled with poor self-esteem to the point of hating myself. But I am quite sure that is NOT what Jesus meant when He said: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).

This has got to be one of the least understood of all of Jesus' teachings. But to “hate” yourself is just another (perhaps stronger) way of saying that a disciple will have to "deny himself" if he is to be like Jesus. Denying our self, then, is the same as hating our own life. But what is it we are to hate? We must hate the life that we have inherited from Adam—our life IN Adam. We have to hate that life IN Adam before we will truly love our life IN Christ.

While the power of Adamic life was destroyed at the Cross (Romans 6:6), the residual self-life, we call “flesh,” remains. And it is ‘un-crucified flesh’ that keeps us from experiencing our life IN Christ. Unless we hate this ‘self life,’ we will never be able to follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

To hate our own life is to give up seeking our own rights and privileges, to stop seeking our own reputation, to forsake our own ambitions and interests, and to stop seeking our own way, in a word, surrendering our “will.” There is no other way to gain the abundant life that we have IN Christ.

What Do You Think You Are Entitled To?

For almost 25 years, I worked for the US government administering the Food Stamp Program in the western states. The Food Stamp Program is called an Entitlement Program. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are also Entitlement Programs.

As I read the news and daily letters to the editors, I have observed that within the context of the current economic crisis in America, people are increasingly looking to government for help. Americans are seeing government resources as something, they, as individual tax-paying citizens, are entitled to. Now, you know me well enough to know I do not intend for this blog to be a political commentary. So why am I bringing up the issue of “entitlement.” Because there is a wonderful spiritual analogy (yes, you knew that was coming, didn’t you!).

Listen to the definition of “entitlement”:“Entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits because of rights, or by agreement through law. It also refers, in a more casual sense to someone's belief that one is deserving of some particular reward or benefit. It is often used as a pejorative term in popular parlance (i.e. a 'sense of entitlement').”
It is this second half of the definition I want to draw your attention to. As cross-carrying, self-denying followers of Christ, we must be very careful not to become caught up in our cultural movement toward entitlement. The tendency of natural, self-centered men is to think they are entitled to a good life—the ‘good life’ being defined as that which meets my needs and suits my purposes. Once we have surrendered government of our lives to Holy Spirit, we must surrender this “natural” sense of entitlement.

If we get seduced by this spirit of entitlement so rampant in our culture, we may find ourselves at odds with God’s purposes, and tempted toward bitterness whenever circumstances are contrary to the things we “thought” God should do. Be careful about that little voice in your ear, saying, “you deserve better than this.” It is not God’s voice!

Self-Improvement or Self-Annihilation

Jesus said that no-one would be able to follow Him, unless he would deny himself and take up his cross daily (Luke 9:23). Paul speaks of it as "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus" (2 Cor.4:10). He meant of course that as Jesus died to his own will (“I do nothing of my own will, but I always do the will of my Father) so we too must never do anything of our own will. We cannot simply change our will; we must die to self-willfulness.
Jesus once spoke of those who seek to patch up an old garment with a new patch; He said the new fabric would tear the garment. This is called SELF-IMPROVEMENT! What was needed, Jesus said, was to get rid of the old garment and get a brand new one. This is the lesson: The old man (born from Adam) cannot be improved. He was crucified by God in Christ (Romans 6:6). It is not a change; it is an exchange. We have to exchange our will for His, the self-life for the Christ life!

God is not to be thought of as a psychologist whose goal for us is self-improvement; God does not take our life in Adam and make it better. He makes it deader. By our co-crucifixion, we are already dead to sin (once for all), but by our “daily” cross-bearing, we are dying to “self.” What freedom it brings; now we can live in the ‘newness of life’ Jesus gives us as a result of our co-resurrection! (Romans 6:4)

Think of this: dead man do not get angry or anxious or depressed. Dead to sin and dying to self, we are able to experience the life of Christ energizing us (2 Corinthians 4:11).