I guess there’s nothing to do but jump in, huh?

Jen helps me do just that.  (I like calling her Jen.  I’m pretty sure she reads my blog, you see.)

Okay, prepare for a little sarcasm…

“Jesus talked repeatedly about people with privileges, riches, advantages.  He was always saying how rich people were favored and that our luxuries were granted to us on merit. 

Enjoy them, rich folks!

It’s all for you, and you’re awesome!

Just kidding.

I can’t find a single word Jesus spoke that bodes well for rich people at the top of the food chain.

‘Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.’ Luke 6:24

‘As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.’  Luke 8:14

‘That’s how it is with the one who stores us treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.’ Luke 12:21

‘He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.’  Luke 1:53

[The story of the rich young ruler] was no problem for me most of my life.  I mean, bummer for all those rich people!  Whew!  What a mess they are.  Jesus is not playing…

Then things started getting weird for me.

Rogue thoughts about my own wealth began infiltrating my brain, where I’d cleared space for more comfortable ideas, like, for instance, how to have a happy life. 

These intruders started questioning the residents in my mind, asking about the rest of the world and how are you spending your money and why do you have bins of stuff in every corner of your house and do you have a responsibility to those who suffer and does the way you spend your money matter?

You can see why I hated these new tenants.”

Yes, I’m starting here.  Because I need to.  We need to get our spending back on track.  It really does matter.

Some of her questions:

What have the residents in your brain always told you about what you own?  It’s okay to be honest.

Do you have any intruders?  If so, what are they asking?

Now me:

If you struggle with guilt and anxiety, you may need someone to hold your hand through this.  If you’re like me, you need someone talking to you about balance and using what we do have for the glory of God and the good of others.  Reminding you you are probably not called to sell everything.  Or loathe what you have.  Or be ungrateful for blessings.

But some of us…

Some of us don’t need that.  Some of us need to hear these hard truths and let them sink in. 

I don’t assume to know anything about what you need.  I know when I look at people in my life and the response to needs for our group’s outreach, I see so much generosity.  I can’t think of all the different ways people I know are using their money, their homes, their possessions to contribute to God’s kingdom.

I’m not angry. 

I’m compelled.

I think there’s more here for us.

How are you doing?

Strength will rise as we wait upon the LORD

Wait upon the LORD

We will wait upon the LORD

Our God – You reign forever!

Our Hope, Our Strong Deliverer!

You are the Everlasting God!

The Everlasting God!

You do not faint

You won’t grow weary

You’re the Defender of the weak

You comfort those in need

You lift us up on wings like eagles!

– Lincoln Brewster “Everlasting God”

“‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

My chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him

And he will bring justice to the nations.

He will not shout or cry out,

or raise his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed he will not break,

And a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

He will not falter or be discouraged

Till he establishes justice on earth.

In his law the islands will put their hope.’

This is what God the LORD says –

He who created the heavens

And stretched them out,

Who spread out the earth and

All that comes out of it,

Who gives breath to its people,

And life to those who walk on it:

‘I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

To be a covenant for the people

And a light for the Gentiles,

To open the eyes that are blind,

To free captives from prison

And to release from the dungeon

Those who sit in darkness.

I am the LORD; that is my name!

I will not give my glory to another

Or my praise to idols.

See, the former things have taken place,

And new things I declare;

Before they spring into being

I announce them to you.'”

Isaiah 42:1-9

Specifics on the whole Spending topic will come.  For now, let’s listen to our mentor, Richard Foster:

“We simply must understand that the writers of the New Testament did not intend to give us a new set of laws.  The limit inherent in all these teachings is built into the simple principle of love of God and neighbor.

Dallas Willard has said, “Love is a well-reasoned concern for the good of all.”

Love does not have tunnel vision.

If I bring the needy into my home and destroy my own family in the process, I am driven by something other than love.

The commands of Jesus must be understood within the broader context of the law of love.  The biblical instruction is not meant to destroy us, but to set us free.  It is the glad trumpet call of liberation to all who are oppressed by reputation, wealth, and power…

What we discover from the New Testament witness is the combination of a penetrating criticism of wealth with a carefree, almost lighthearted attitude toward possessions.  It is a combination seldom found today…

Until Pentecost the disciples were a motley crew – bickering, backbiting, jockeying for position, always squabbling over who was to receive top billing. 

Unfocused, they did not know simplicity of life.  But in the course of time Jesus had formed a community of people who would live in holy obedience (always the most distinguishing characteristic of simplicity). 

Finally a people had been gathered who, when God said, ‘Wait,’ would wait, when God said, ‘Go,’ would go, when God said, ‘Give,’ would give.

Rugged men and women who had been seasoned by many failures and some successes, imperfect and ignorant of many things, they were nevertheless a prepared people. 

And God said, ‘Wait.’

Disciplined, obedient, simple, they waited.

And the fire fell.”

The Freedom of Simplicity, pgs 49, 50, 51

All men are like grass

And all their glory is like

The flowers of the field;

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

But the Word of the LORD stands forever.

– 1 Peter 1:24-25

I’ve been thinking about authority and honor.  I so appreciate the good men in my life, including my man, who continue to point back the One worthy.  The gospel.  The Most High God.

I’m grateful for our pastor who points us to the cross week after week.

I’m grateful for the generation before us and the ones before them.  My seniors kill me.  Today one of them brought me her leftover Meals on Wheels zipper bags because she didn’t want them to go to waste.  And I chatted briefly with the coffee guys at their table discussing all the complications of the homeless situation.  They know things aren’t black and white, cut and dried.  They realize there is complexity.  But they know the answer is to keep pursuing it.

I’ve also been thinking about pedestals.  I am pretty sure I’ve hurt some folks that I’ve put on a pedestal because I assumed they wouldn’t have time for me or were too important.  That’s sad.

But the reverse is true too.  I don’t want on a pedestal, either.  I will fall off.  Spectacularly.  Guar.an.teed.

We weren’t made to be worshipped.  We can’t handle that pressure.  And we don’t deserve it.

There is no one righteous, not even one;

There is no one who understands,

No one who seeks God. 

All have turned away,

They have together become worthless;

There is no one righteous,

Not even one.

Romans 3:10-12

John wept and wept because no one was found worthy who could open the scroll.  (Revelation 5:4)

No one knows the future, either.  Only the One Who Was, and Is, and Is To Come knows what’s to come.

But as Voddie said in 2001 at destiNations:

“My purposes are bigger than you.  But I have a plan that includes you.”

Oh, thank the good goodness it’s not about us.  But we get to be included. 

And – in spite of everything – we can press on:

Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:12a & 13b-14)

The phrase “new thing” has been swirling.  So I appreciated when I opened the Holy Scriptures this morning that new song was underlined.  I included that excerpt and the Isaiah one today.

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.

He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.  And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.

Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sang a new song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll

And to open its seals,

Because you were slain,

and with your blood you

Purchased men for God

From every tribe and language

And people and nation.

You have made them to be a

Kingdom and priests to

Serve our God,

And they will reign on the earth.”

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.  They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

In a loud voice they sang:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

To receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

And honor and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in them singing,

“To him who sits on the throne

And to the Lamb

Be praise and honor and glory and power

For ever and ever!”

The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshipped.

– Revelation 5:6-14

Forget the former things;

Do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up;

Do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert

And streams in the wasteland.

– Isaiah 43:18-19

Praise You, Savior. 

All You ever do is change the old for new.

You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

The entire law is summed up in a single command:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by one another.

– Galations 5:13-15

Well, the Grace Police haven’t said anything about yesterday’s post.  But whenever you deal with specifics you borderline on what Foster calls “precision without legalism.”

So in that vain, I’d like to say a few more things, then leave this food business to you and yours.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?  To his own master he stands or falls.” (Romans 14:4)

God is our Master.  If we start to become each other’s master, comparing and competing in this or any other category, we will be in bondage to each other.

The point? 

In the Word, fasting has several different uses.  The two I feel compelled toward are:

Repentance

and

Preparation

Repentance for how I’ve been handling food (and spending) for the last several months.

But the one I’m really pumped about is the Preparation part.

We live in a time on God’s kingdom calendar marked by a movement of His Spirit that is picking up steam.  He is mobilizing His Body to be His hands and feet in so many areas.  Often, before He works through us, He works in us. 

Remember when Joshua told the Israelites:

“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”

We can be set apart so He can use us.  So our heads are on straight and our hearts are correctly focused.  So we are ready when He says, “join me where I’m working here.”  So we’re aware that all our discipline and efforts have been a mercy from Him that He’s used to prepare us.  So He gets the glory and we get caught up in the joy of joining Him.  So “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I think the idea of God’s kingdom can get confusing.  Leave it the The Jesus Storybook Bible to simplify things.

“God’s kingdom is anywhere God is king.”

From Jen:

“When Jesus’ ways are emulated and mercy wins, when justice rolls like a mighty river and truth is declared.  Anywhere God’s rule has dominion, in any moment when His way is chosen over our human instinct, His kingdom breaks through.

Jesus gave us the best glimpse into the kingdom by walking around on earth.  We get to watch what this new way of living looks like, how it sounds, who it belongs to, how it is spoken, where it is willing to reach. 

We see that it owns very, very little but gives very, very much.  We notice that it is often unsafe and wanders into dangerous territory, even if we write that off as inapplicable to us.

We see the kingdom committed to unlikely folks at the bottom of the food chain: children, lepers, women, homeless people, and the way it got there was by Jesus actually going there, walking there with His feet and touching people with His hands.

We watch it draw a disproportionate level of criticism from religious people; it looked very different from the hierarchy inside the temple.

Its best moments were on hillsides, in rivers, around dinner tables, at funerals, on roadsides, in sick rooms, in boats – we don’t actually see Jesus sequestered in the temple much.

It’s this way of life, the way Jesus did it, full of courage and risk and sacrifice and back-breaking mercy that we are asked to accept.”

He wants to use us.  He wants us to be prepared.  He wants us to become more like Him in character, in our hearts, down to the marrow of our bones. 

Fast from anything toward this end. 

Ready?  Here it comes:

“Scripture is full of the symbolism between the original temple in the old covenant and the new temple – our bodies – under the new covenant.

It’s a stunning word picture:

The holy of holies where the presence of God dwelt, housed in the ark of the covenant behind a large curtain, the innermost sanctuary of the temple.

Only the high priest – and only once a year – could enter to offer a sacrifice of atonement for the nation’s sins.  And this was no simple matter of shoving the curtain aside and sprinkling a little blood around.  This sacrifice was so sacred, God gave over 100 directives on how it had to be done…

…if the worship was tainted, the high priest would be struck instantly dead, and the other priests would know by the silence of the bells [on the hem of his robe].

God is holy.

So very holy.

That God could even be close to sinful mankind is astonishing, which is why it was so complicated to bring worship that wouldn’t offend His perfection.

He is still that holy.

Which brings us to Jesus.

Mark 15:37 – 38 says:

‘With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.’

How did Jesus’ sacrifice forever change worship from how it had been since its inception?

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says:

‘Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

Jesus changed the parameters of the temple, but do you think He changed its sanctity?  Are our bodies more or less sacred?

How do you think God’s immense concern over every detail of the original temple translates to how He wants us to manage our bodies, the new temple?

We are the royal priesthood, bearers of the holy place within. 

The veil is torn.

We are sacred, hallowed through Jesus.

It’s almost too beautiful to handle.

Do we treat our bodies like the vessels of the very presence of the great I AM?

Is there a remnant of respect and reverence for these bodies, and these plants and animals consecrated for our sustenance?

How would God find you treating your body and your family’s bodies today?  In what ways would He commend your choices?  What concerns might He have?

This is not about being skinny…we’ve disconnected entirely from the correct objective:

health

This is my one life.  God chose these few years for my turn on the earth.  This is it. 

I’m counting on these lungs to tell of His goodness, to sing my worship, to mother my children, to speak good news.

These hands have much work to do.

This is the vessel God gave me to tell His story, to love His people, to champion His kingdom.

He gave us best practices in Scripture and said,

‘Put these things in your heart,

put these truths in your mind,

put these thing in your mouth…

Trust Me.'”

Yes, I believe I should be purchasing copyrights or something at this point!  Forgive me, Jen!!

How do you feel?  Beat up?  I so hope not.

Convicted?  Hopeful?  Confused?  Annoyed?  Me too.

Listen, there are so many people doing this well.  We are not always.  Correction: we are not usually.

A blogger I read follows the 80/20 rule.  80% of the time, they are trying to eat real, whole foods.  Avoiding highly processed stuff.  Eating more vegetables than is typical in the average American diet. 

The other 20% of the time?

That’s called life.

Birthday parties, a rushed evening that turns into eating out, date nights, traveling, the holiday season.

Like she said, I don’t want a zucchini cake on my birthday!  I don’t want my kids to never know what a Cheeto tastes like or to turn down a Ring Pop when offered.

Besides if we got this right 100% of the time, think of what snots we could be, looking down our noses at others.

Bleh.  That almost makes me shiver more than the bad food choices I tend to make.

But there are some things we can do, a little at a time:
 

Maybe we could reorient our time management and resolve to cook more. 

We can hop on Pinterest or Google and search for more recipes that call for less processed stuff.  (As Jen says, “This takes planning, diligence…We can do this.  People lived like this for thousands of years.”)

We could make treats just that: a treat.  Not something to always be indulged in (ahem to myself).

We can look for Farmer’s Markets to help support the little guys and spend our money on local and organic.

We can go through our pantries and get rid of toxic stuff.  (Says Jen: “Think of this as worship, because it is.  You are respecting God, His creation, and the food system He kindly put in place to nourish us.”)

We can research our oft-patronized restaurants and find out what is healthy on their menu.  If nothing, we can make a switch.

We can choose real butter over highly-processed margarine.

We can grind wheat (super easy in a coffee grinder) and dump it in our recipes instead of the processed, bleached kind.

We can reorient our budget to fit in meat that doesn’t have all the added junk and was raised with a conscience – or we can do more meatless meals.  (My friend has a trick for this: if she makes fresh bread or rolls, her man doesn’t complain about the lack of meat as much!)

We can make popcorn on the stove or in a popcorn popper (with coconut oil instead of processed oil!) instead of the microwave kind.  Additional time needed?  Maybe 5 minutes.

Hate veggies?  Sneak them in smoothies!

Jump on the Aldi bandwagon: Seriously, I’m very impressed with the lack of zillions of ingredients on their labels.  Plus, we’re watching food coloring since we really think it affects our boys’ tantrums – and most of their stuff doesn’t have any.  Plus they now have an affordable organic line.  Plus they’re super cheap.  (Also, those of us on tighter budgets can stick to the Clean 15 from Aldi if we can’t afford organic.)

Phase out extra sugar or artificial sweeteners by using real maple syrup or honey.  (Less need for real or fake sugar when trees and bees got us covered.)

One more from Jen:  “Need help getting over yourself in this department?  Spend some time with the truly hungry.  Volunteer at your local food bank, a homeless shelter/kitchen at mealtime, pack a bunch of sandwiches and take them to folks on street corners.”

Listen to me:  we are not giving up Chick-fil-a forever any time soon!  We had nachos for dinner last night.  We buy frosted shredded wheat.  Our yogurt has added sugar. 

Don’t look to us for the ideal here.  But we’re trying to be more conscious. 

How are you feeling?

Can you keep several verses in your mind as you read today?

Truths like:

“The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…”  (Rom 14:17)

“‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean…'” (Acts 10:15b)

“For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.  By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.”  (Romans 14:15 ESV)

And I’m talking through my motives with God in line with these truths (excerpts from The Message version of Romans 14) :

“Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do…remember they have their own history to deal with.  Treat them gently…

What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters…


It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.


If you confuse others by making a big issue over what they eat or don’t eat, you’re no longer a companion with them in love, are you? These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died.


Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ.


So let’s agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. You’re certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God’s work among you, are you? 


When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don’t eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.” 






The free exchange of love.  I hope I’m not kidding myself that those are my motives in being public about this with you.  Because, in all honesty, it would be so much easier for me not to make this public. 


If I really thought He only had something to say to our family, I would just type it on a Word document.  But I think He may have something to say to more than just our little family.  And if this is what swirls through my mind after asking what message He has for me today, I dare not disobey.


Not as in 


Oh my goodness, what will happen to me if I don’t? 


But as in


What blessings will I miss out on by not obeying?






Here we go with today:


Jen quotes In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan in this Food Week:


“By the 1960s or so it had become all but impossible to sustain traditional ways of eating in the face of the industrialization of our food.  If you wanted to eat produce grown without synthetic chemicals or meat raised on pasture without pharmaceuticals, you were out of luck.  The supermarket had become the only place to buy food, and real food was rapidly disappearing from its shelves, to be replaced by the modern cornucopia of highly processed foodlike products.”




From Jen now:


“At the very beginning, God told Adam and Eve this:


‘I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed.  This food will be for you.’ (Gen 1:29)


Thank You, Lord, for making wheat a seed-bearing plant.


Bread = good.


So He launched humanity as vegans, and they stayed this way for some time.


After the flood, God told Noah:


‘Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.’ (Gen 9:3)


This was good inclusion at this point, since all the vegetation was, well, drowned.


OK, so now meat is fine.  Well, not all meat…




Most clean animals are herbivores, whereas most unclean animals are carnivores…Generally, God forbid the consumption of scavengers, predators, and bottom-dwellers…Obviously, these animals are ridden with toxins, parasites, and pathogens; great for the earth [to be part of the ecological cycles as the Environmental Clean-Up Crew] but terrible for our bodies.


God is protecting His entire creation…


Most of what we find in the grocery store isn’t even food…This [defies] the whole food, farm-to-table system God designed for us.”

Okay.  Deep breath.  This is no time to freak out and completely overhaul every single thing you feed your family.

One of my favorite people is very deliberate and slow in this area.  She slowly made the switch to ground turkey in her recipes instead of ground beef.  Now her husband prefers it.  Her kids don’t know the difference.  She added brown rice a little at a time to white rice.  Now they eat brown.  She started dumping ingredients in a bread machine in the mornings and now they eat fresh bread without preservatives (I don’t think anyone needs to be talked into fresh bread).  She averaged out what she spends per meal and once a week they eat rice and beans and put the excess money in a jar by their dinner table.  They talk about what most people around the world eat and when they have accumulated enough, they go shopping for the local Food Bank.

See what I mean?  If you’ve been reading articles about this, hearing news reports, noticing the trend of local or organic or all-natural, and feel convicted (not guilty!) start where you are. 

And let me just address my biggest hold-up in this area: the emotional energy this requires!  I mean, we are all busy.  If you’re a mom, oh my word.  Sometimes we just don’t have the bandwidth.  Tell God all about it and ask Him what He would have you do next.  Is there one tiny step of obedience He would want you to take?

I’ll make my embarrassingly small one public: I need to eat oatmeal in the mornings.  That’s it.  One thing.  It’s not even the fancy, steel-cut variety.  Just pop it in the microwave.  But with my tendency to rebel against restrictions put upon me (even from myself!), I’m taking this thing slow. 

Next time we’ll talk about how the New Testament teaches our bodies are a temple of God.  When we see the great, intricate details God put into place with the structural temple, we can glean some of those concepts for how He wants us to treat an even more holy temple: our bodies.

Go with peace and joy and freedom today!

Okay, first thing’s first today.

I want you to know I have the Grace Police on these blog posts.  I don’t trust myself to not slip into legalism, especially in this category.

Second, I don’t know who you are.  I don’t know what you’ve been through or if you have any sort of stronghold in this area of food/body image, etc.  If you do, may I tenderly suggest this topic may not be for you?  This will be coming from someone who couldn’t have handled it not long ago.  God and I are now in a place where I can take some more steps of obedience.

If you start to feel anxious or guilty (different than convicted) or fearful from what you read, please stop!  I would then suggest the “Overcoming Food Related Strongholds” chapter in Praying God’s Word.  And I have heard good things from trusted people about Made to Crave.  And, depending on the severity, professional help could be your thing.

I’m very, very serious.

Okay, let’s dive in.  Most of this is going to be from The 7 Experiment. 

(It might also help you to know the person writing this ate several desserts yesterday, including a green doughnut, with my seniors at a St. Patty’s potluck.  A green doughnut.)

Anyway, to begin the whole fast, we started with Food.  Jen began by counting how many food items she had in her pantry, refrigerator and freezer. 

It was 240.

Have you ever counted yours?

Have you ever exclaimed there was nothing to eat?

Have you ever thrown out perfectly good food because there were so many other choices?

In addition, have you ever fasted from food?  What has it looked like?  What were your motives and challenges?

Isaiah 58 is a must if you’re thinking about fasting from any excess – food, money, possessions, media. 

Why?

Because, as Jen says,

“We are not the first culture to follow God’s rules but miss His heart.  We’ve long been good on the outside.  We can see in Isaiah 58 that it drives Him mad. 

God put the rules in place to help us find Him, help us worship, and help transform our stubborn hearts, but in a twist of irony, we perfect the mechanics and skip the pesky transformation part. 

It’s a complicated skill set to circumvent the point altogether, but we manage to do it.”

The point is the “heart of abstinence that leads to communion” with Him. 

Okay, more details soon.  Bite-sized chunks, friends. 

But we can’t finish without the full beauty of Isaiah 58 on here, can we?

Listen to our Father’s heart:

“‘Shout it aloud, do not hold back.

Raise your voice like a trumpet.

Declare to my people their rebellion

And to the house of Jacob their sins.

For day after day they seek me out;

They seem eager to know my ways,

As if they were a nation that does what is right

And has not forsaken the commands of its God.

They ask me for just decisions

And seem eager for God to come near them.

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,

‘And you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

And you have not noticed?’

Yet on the day of your fasting,

You do as you please

And exploit all your workers.

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,

And in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today

And expect your voice to be heard on high.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,

Only a day for a man to humble himself?

Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed

And for lying on sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

A day acceptable to the LORD?

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

To loose the chains of injustice

And untie the cords of the yoke,

To set the oppressed free

And break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

And to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –

When you see the naked, to clothe him,

And not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn

And your healing will quickly appear;

Then your righteousness will

Go before you,

And the glory of the LORD will

Be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

You will cry for help, and he will say:

Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

With the pointing finger and malicious talk,

And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

And satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

Then your light will rise in the darkness,

And your night will become like the noonday.

The LORD will guide you always;

He will satisfy your needs in a

Sun-scorched land

And will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

Like a spring whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

And will raise up the age-old foundations;

You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

And from doing as you please on my holy day,

If you call the Sabbath a delight

And the LORD’s holy day honorable,

And if you honor it by not going your own way

And not doing as you please

Or speaking idle words,

Then you will find your joy in the LORD,

And I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land

And to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.’

The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Yesterday in Super Church we talked about the man who prepared a Great Banquet and invited his guests.  (Luke 14:15-24)

And no one came.

In fact, they all had excuses.

Want to know what they were?

A field.

A yoke of oxen.

A new marriage.

I asked the kids if those things are bad.

Of course not.

But when they become more important than a relationship with the Banquet Thrower, they are trouble.

I want to be open to asking Jesus what is the “field/oxen/marriage” in my life?

What are the excuses keeping me from all He has for me?
 

I don’t want to admit it, but I dreaded the food topic.
 

Especially from “The 7 Experiment” perspective.

  

I’ve shared on here before that Food and I have had a love/hate relationship.  Well, food wasn’t the heart issue.  It was control.  And idolatry.  But it was externalized in food much of my younger years.

I worked so, so hard at learning how to read my body’s cues.  When was I full?  Why am I going to eat?  Just because “it’s time” or because I’m actually hungry?  Why am I fearful of eating this but not that?  If I do eat “this” can I make peace with it?  Or will I feel tempted to get rid of it?

Eating disorders are a scary thing.  You have to deal with the deeper, heart issues.  But you can’t ignore the fact that you have to deal with food.  Sooner or later.

 

It’s different than alcoholism.  The goal there is to abstain for a lifetime.  And daily surrender the battle to Jesus over powerlessness to alcohol.

But everyone has to eat.

Sigh.

So, honestly, I’ve been all over the place with this.  In the last 5 or so years, I seem to have landed on the following:

Eat mostly healthy when you’re hungry.

Don’t freak out about treats.

Exercise.

Not bad, I think.  Especially for someone with my history.

However.

I go through seasons where “don’t freak out about treats” gets interpreted as “teach children poor health habits.”

 

Or “eat mostly healthy” = “don’t eat breakfast, feed child decent lunch, eat chips and salsa during nap time.”

I think this might not be best for me.
 

I think most people (especially us women folk) have struggled with this issue.

I guess I’m just gonna be more publicly accountable with it right now.

Anyway, to open up The 7 Experiment, Jen Hatmaker talked about the story of the Rich Young Ruler.  She has this to say:

“It’s interesting that Jesus gently discarded all this young man’s good behaviors and instead plowed into a systemic issue separating him from he kingdom of God: wealth and position.
 

Rather than affirming the lovely side dishes, He went straight to the meat of the matter and totally shocked this well-behaved young man, who was doing so much right.
 

I mean, we could understand a rebuttal for a wife-beater or a child abuser or a swindler, but this guy diligently kept the commandments and even wanted to know what else he could do.

He was trying hard, flying right, on the up and up.

Then Jesus told him,

“It’s not about what you’re doing right; it’s about what you cherish.”

We can figure out what we cherish by how we feel when it is threatened.

Ack.  I want to pretend I didn’t just read that last sentence.

Because when the idea of eating whatever I want, whenever I want with no consequences is threatened…I am not happy.

So we’ll be journeying this direction.
 

Join me, won’t you?