Worship and the Word Movement

There seems to be a lot going around right now about rest… Sabbath rest… and fasting. I want to challenge you to rest this week. Set aside a block of time, or even a day, to reflect on the glory of God in the earth and in heaven. That’s what was intended for the Sabbath. God made the Sabbath for people, to reflect, to remember, to rest. If that’s not a part of your regular routine, then make it a part. If you are interested in living the best possible life, then make this type of rest a part of your life. That’s what Jesus taught! Besides, when was the last time you truely rested…not just slept? Do a study on the Sabbath in the Bible. Let the Holy Spirit teach you about it and give it a try! Now, for some thoughts on fasting:

Fasting is fascinating to me. The other day, Tara told me that I get so cranky when I don’t eat… very true… and it occurred to me that food has a ton of power over me! So much so that the lack of it was controlling my mood and thought process. That freaked me out man! That should not be the case!!! I am the one that has been given power to control my mood, not circumstances. Victor Frankel, who was one of the prisoners of war in a Nazi concentration camp, realized that they could take everything away from him except his power to choose. There was nothing that they could do to take away his power to choose his attitude, unless he let them.  Isn’t that astounding?  When I gave my life to Jesus at the age of 16, God spoke to my heart and told me that I never had to have a bad day again… EVER! So, recently understanding the type of hold food, or the lack thereof, had on me really freaked me out.  So, I decided to fast and choose to have a good attitude… and I think I did fairly well… I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Tara. 

Another thing that fasting does is that it humbles you. It is one of the only ways that I can identify with 2/3 of the world’s people. Yes, 4 billion individuals every day feel the pang of hunger. Fasting, in that sense, brings gratefulness and thankfulness up from within. I just finished a fast today and as I ate a Chipotle buritto, I REALLY thanked God for it, from my heart. I was humbled as I ate.

Fasting also helps us to understand the point that Jesus made to Satan when He was being tempted on the 41st day of his fast.  Satan said, “Turn those rocks into bread” and Jesus replied, “It is written, man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Yesterday, as I fasted, I kept saying, “I don’t live on bread only, or burittos, or ice cream, but by the Words of Your mouth God.” It didn’t make the experience any easier, but I didn’t want it to be. I challenge you to fast this week and choose to have a great attitude during the fast. Do it until it hurts and humble yourself before God, thanking Him for His provision in your life. Feel the pang that 2/3 of the people on this planet feel daily, and pray for them: pray that God’s Word would be revealed to them, and pray for Christians to take it to them from the US and all around the world. Let’s get involved with what God is doing around the world, instead of just asking Him to get involved with what were doing!

Rain, for most people, is pretty inconvenient. It’s not pleasant to be rained on… that’s why we buy umbrella’s… to keep the rain off. I got rained on today and I didn’t like it that much, but then I started think about rain itself and was provoked in thought.

Rain moistens earth, it causes floods, and helps things grow. Rain comes from above. It can make roads slippery and destroy planned events, like baseball games or firework displays or outdoor parties or quincinera’s. Rain makes river’s swell and cars hydroplane; it impairs visibility. It gets dry things wet and makes great sounds on roof’s, windows, and trees… peaceful sounds and terrifying sounds. Rain smells good; it makes things fresh again. Rain can ruin hair-do’s and cause make-up run.  Read the next part slowly, pausing every now and again to think:

Why do we “pray for rain?” What if God decided to unleash some of His heavenly rain? First of all, what would that look like… what does that mean? How many people would run inside because they don’t want to get wet? Would they stay outside but just open their umbrella instead? Would they try to keep the rain off because it’s inconvenient? Why cover up when our lives are so dry? Why not let it moisten our hearts and let it inspire things to grow within? What if our road of life got slippery and we started to loose control of our brand new Franklin Covey car? What if our planned events were rained out or our service was prolonged! What if it started to cause fear because the waters of a nearby river threatened our comfortable homes and lifestyles? How bad would it be if we couldn’t see down the road very far because our visibility was impaired by God’s rain? Are we so used to being dry that we wouldn’t want to get wet? What if we could hear the sound of God’s presence raining down… would that be a peaceful sound… a terrifying sound? Wound it smell good to us? Would we allow it to make us fresh again…or would we be so self-absorbed that we couldn’t enjoy it because our hair looks bad or our make-up is running?

Some people love the rain; they don’t care about getting wet. In fact, they run out into the rain, find a puddle forming and splash around until they are soaked.  But most people don’t.

When I was in the Vatican in 2000, it was the year of Jubilee and thousands of people were filling St. Peter’s square to catch a glimpse of Pope John Paul II. There were 2 huge plasma screens on either side of the stage, magnifying him. Suddenly, it began to rain, and I mean RAIN!!! As the rain drops cascaded down from the heavens, yells and high pitched screams were heard all around, and then, almost as suddenly as the rain came…WHOOSH!!!… thousands of umbrella’s… except for me and my friends, who didn’t even think to bring one. (DANG?) That afternoon, I got really wet and I really didn’t like it at all. It was quite inconvenient and uncomfortable.

Spiritually, when God sends some of His wonderful, unpredictable rain, I hope I forget my umbrella that day. I hope that I can recognize what’s going on, and get soaked, splashing in the puddles, getting swept away by a raging river, rather than being ticked off because it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable. Even if it wrecks my party and flattens my golden locks… I’m still praying for rain!  Would you join me? Think about it.