A lifetime of service

'I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.' 1 Tim 1:12

I've been challenged over the last week or so listening to Revive our Hearts' series on 'Serving like the Saviour'. Nancy Leigh deMoss made this striking comment:

'We’re never more like Satan than when we’re serving out of a desire to be recognized, and we’re never more like Jesus than when we’re serving with no need for recognition, no reputation seeking, just wanting to lay down our lives for His sake and others.' (Today's Servants)

I think so often I am preoccupied with being applauded, or in serving in the ways I really like, that I miss completely the true heart of servanthood, which is shown so beautifully in Jesus.

The apostle Paul takes time in his letter to thank Christ for considering him trustworthy and appointing him to His service- he thanks God for the opportunity to serve, with no restrictions on the way he serves. He also says Christ has given him strength in order to do it. If we're serving in our own strength, then we're just acting in the flesh and not like one of the branches connected to the vine.

I can see, in myself, the desire for position, the desire for status within the church, and it can be tempting to use service to try to gain that. How contrary to the gospel! How can we, being saved by grace, then proceed to try to build up achievement points before God or men?

If I'm going to serve, I have to imitate Paul in always remembering that I serve because of His mercy and abundant grace (1 Tim 1:13-14). I have to serve without measuring out how much I am giving or having an expectation of what I receive. I need to have more concern for His glory than for my own, and I need to draw from the endless wellspring of His love to do it, rather than from my own, very finite resources which are like a puddle on a dry day - soon depleted!

Rather than wanting to be remembered for great gospel exploits, my goal should be to be known as one who served - if known at all. Lord, shape my heart into that of a true servant, for Your glory! Amen.

Testimony

It's testimony Tuesday in my church's mission week and we've all been challenged to share something of our stories with our friends, family and anyone who knows us. So here goes!

I grew up going to church and God was always very real to me. I made my own decision to be a Christian; it wasn't something my parents could do for me. I knew I wanted to give my life to God and live for Him.

If I was to sum up what it means to me to be a Christian it would be this: saved by grace to be part of God's community. It's nothing to do with anything good I may or may not have done, it's about the fact that Jesus died for my sins so I can be forgiven.

Being a Christian isn't a one off decision, it's a path you have to walk day by day; it's in every choice you make: do you do things your way or God's way? I definitely do not always make the right choices but I'm thankful that He is working in me everyday to change me and make me more like Jesus Christ.

It's not always easy being a Christian - you have to make some hard choices and you need to listen to God and be directed by His plan and priorities rather than what everyone else is doing, but I can definitely tell you that being a Christian is the best decision I ever made. My life has a clear purpose and I found what I was made for: to know the God who made me and to know who Jesus is in a really personal way. I'm so excited about one day seeing Him face to face.

Maybe you sometimes wonder about what will happen when you die or whether there really is a God. We are made to know God and something within us nudges us to find out more about Him. He has done everything to make it possible for us to know him: you can read all about it in the Bible. Why don't you try reading the gospel of Luke, it's pretty short and would not take you very long but maybe you might find the things you thought about Jesus weren't based on the truth or the real Jesus as we see in the Bible.

I am so blessed to be part of Hill City Church and every week we sing songs and look at the Bible together. I always learn something new and God is very present with us as we learn more about Him together. The church is my family and being part of this community is amazing. It gives me a taste of what heaven will be like: no fluffy clouds and harps, but a mass of people from all different places worshipping God together. We meet every Sunday morning at 11 a.m. in Pontnewynydd Methodist Church, why don't you come and join us and see for yourself?

Thank you for reading this and do you ask me any questions you have. I'd love to talk to you more about being a Christian and what you think about it.

Jesus: tempted and triumphant

In His first 30 years on the planet, Jesus would have known the same sufferings as you or I: physical weakness and emotional sadness and grief. For example, there is good reason to believe that Joseph died at some point as he is not present during Christ's ministry and Jesus deliberately passes the care of His mother to John at the cross. Throughout all this time, He never once sinned. He lived as our representative, the perfect second Adam.

On the cusp of His public ministry, right after His baptism, Jesus was tempted by Satan. This scene in the gospels is in some ways a culmination of His entire lifetime of perfect obedience, as well as showing how at this crucial moment the spiritual attack upon Him intensified.

Jesus was 'led by the Spirit into the wilderness' and after fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. (Matt 4:1-2). The devil challenged Him: ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ (v3) Jesus refused to allow His identity to be defined by merely His actions or miracles. He was the Son of God even though He was hungry, and He didn't need to exert divine powers to prove it. He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The devil then challenged Jesus to throw Himself down off the highest point of the temple, because the Scripture said God would send His angels 'so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Finally, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (v5-10)

Jesus was tempted by Satan to shortcut the suffering of the path God wanted Him to take. The devil wanted Jesus to use His divinity to cut out some of the discomfort of being human, and follow a path of fame and glory instead of the way of the cross, a life independent of His Father. He refused. Jesus valued obedience more than comfort. Do we?

The section reminds us of Israel's 40 years in the wilderness, where they constantly complained about the suffering they had to endure, forgetting their privileged status as God's chosen people, their terrible suffering in Egypt which God dramatically delivered them from, and the beautiful land that was promised to them. What about us? How do we suffer? Do we constantly complain, oblivious of all the blessings we have received, including every spiritual blessing in Christ? Do we forget that we've been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light? Do we forget our eternal, future inheritance - the inheritance of Christ?

Oswald Sanders in 'The Incomparable Christ' writes this: Jesus 'refused to employ His divine prerogatives to gratify His own natural desires... Jesus had indeed come to obtain all the world of power and glory, but He was to receive it in His Father's way and in His Father's time. And His Father's way included death on a cross. He perceived that Satan was offering Him the crown without the cross.'

How did Jesus beat Satan? His response was to quote the Word of God. He modelled for us how we should fight our enemy; He used no powers beyond our reach. And He returned triumphant, 'in the power of the Spirit' (Lk 4:1, 14); enriched, not impoverished, by the experience (Sanders). May this be our experience in every trial.

Words, words, words- what is slander?

Just been thinking more about how I use my words- do I build others up, or do I tear them down? Scripture says a lot about how we speak, and I was looking on Reviveourhearts.com where there are some very challenging tests you can use to weigh up how you are using your words.

First, some definitions:
Slander is open, intentional sharing of damaging information where the person concerned is absent.
Gossip is idle, careless chatter, saying malicious things, and it is a weapon of the devil.
Sometimes slander and gossip are quite subtle - perhaps coming to your own conclusions, which may not be true, and sharing them with others. Or it could be saying something you know is true, but that doesn't need to be said.

How to test your words:
Is it true? Even if it is, is it kind and necessary?
Prov 17.9 'he who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.'
Do you overlook offenses or do you feel compelled to magnify them and repeat them to others?
If the person you are sharing information with is not part of the problem or solution, don't share! Our words can promote love, unity and oneness, or be divisive and break up a relationship.

Would you want to be quoted?
Would you want the person concerned to know what you were saying?

Are you speaking with a critical spirit or a motive of love?
Don't be focused on the splinters in everyone else's eyes and ignore the plank in your own! Fix yourself, not others.

A wise man does not have to say everything he knows. Instead, he demonstrates restraint and humility and speaks at the appropriate time.
Prov 29.11 'a fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.'
Prov 15.28 'the heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.'
The mouth is connected to the heart, so if we're saying things that are malicious, we need to pull out that sin at the root, which is in our heart and our attitudes and thoughts.

How to take action:
-Repent
-Ask God to purify your heart
-Fill your heart with the Word of God
-Guard your mouth. (Prov 13.3, Prov 21.23, Ps 141.3, Prov 31.26)

It's easier said than done! But if we can get control over our tongues, we can be true peacemakers (see James 3).

Peace in a perfect time to panic

In the first Toy Story film, Woody and Buzz find themselves far from their owner Andy's house. Stuck in a petrol station, Woody begins to despair that they will never make it back before Andy and his family move in two days' time. Buzz looks at Woody with a cool, calm gaze and says "This is no time to panic." Woody throws up his hands in the air and explodes, "This is the perfect time to panic!"

I don't know about you but I often find myself in situations where panic seems not only inevitable but even appropriate. What makes the scene in Toy Story so funny is that Buzz is convinced that he is the real Buzz Lightyear and the fate of the galaxy rests on his shoulders. To him, Woody's concern about Andy is trivial compared to his own quest. What we don't want to hear when we are in meltdown is some cool removed advice from someone so fixed on what is 'out of this world' that they are unmoved by our predicament. Perhaps Christians can be like Buzz at times. Not delusional, but all we can offer to those tied up in fear is some detached promise of another galaxy ie heaven.

So it's great news that Jesus offers us very real comfort and peace without taking away the tricky situations we often find ourselves in. In John's gospel, Jesus talks to His disciples before going to the garden of Gethsemane, where He would be betrayed and arrested. Jesus knows what is going to happen; in fact, in his gospel, John is at pains to reiterate that Jesus is choosing this path of the cross. Jesus is teaching and preparing His disciples not just for what is about to occur, but for their future ministry once He is risen and ascended to His Father. What I noticed is that Jesus repeats that they should not let their hearts be troubled (chapter 14 verse 1 and verse 27). In fact, they should have peace: 'peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.' (verse 27). Risen from the dead, Jesus says 'Peace be with you' in Luke 24:36; John adds this: 'as the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.' (John 20:21) What is it that links both sections in John's gospel that brings peace? It is the presence of Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit.

If you're looking for a peace that is unshakable, you don't need to go on a retreat. You don't need to practice Buddhist meditation or yoga or become some kind of monk. That's the kind of peace the world chases, but the real peace that Jesus offers is so precious because it comes from Him being with us in all of our chaos. Jesus doesn't promise an end to all the things that make us panic and fear. He doesn't promise an end to war or pain or suffering or death until His second coming (see Revelation 21). Therefore we need a peace that is not based on circumstances, because if my peace is dependent on having a certain measure of health, happiness or success, then my peace will be fragile indeed. If my peace depends on my family, my job, my money, my status, my appearance or anything I possess, then it is not the peace of Christ. But if Christ Himself could face the cross with a holy peace that came from knowing who He was and what He was doing, and He offers me that same peace, then I can face anything.

The peace of the Holy Spirit
In John 14, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit 'Counsellor'. 'He will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you' (verse 26). This gives us the peace of verse 27. In verse 30, Jesus speaks of His enemy, 'the prince of this world', but says 'he has no hold on me.' That is what we need to remember: if we are in Christ the enemy has no hold on us either, unless we give him that hold through fear or sin. How do we combat fear and sin? Chapter 15 goes on: 'I am the true vine... Remain in Me and I will remain in you.' Sometimes with these well known passages we tend to just look them up as standalone statements, but to do that loses the significant context Jesus speaks into. He knows He is going; He knows He is sending us; He knows we need Him. His words in John 15 give us the key to how to live in Him and through Him and for Him. We need to obey Him and we need to love each other. We need to testify about Jesus, even when it means rejection and dangerous to our lives (chapter 16 verse 2).

But let's get back to Buzz. In some ways we do need to comfort ourselves with the fact that Jesus is coming soon and He is going to take us to be with him and He's prepared a place for us (John 14:2-3). But let's not lose the fact that He is with us now by His Spirit and so we are never alone. Jesus concludes: 'I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.' (John 16:33). I'm going to memorize that one and next time I have a perfect time to panic, I'll remind myself that is a perfect time for peace in Him.

Book Review: Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Girl by Paula Hendricks

I came across this book through Revive our Hearts, as Paula writes for the 'Lies Young Women Believe' blog. It's quite American, and it's aimed at teen girls (so I don't really fit this target audience!), but I did really enjoy reading it, and it definitely challenged me on whether I was really aware of all the idols in my life.

Through honest, personal writing, Paula goes through her relationship history with all the ups and downs. She shares her struggle to be pure, her struggle to feel loved and accepted in Christ, and her struggle to wait for God's plan and timing when it comes to romance. I may be married, but I still identified with much of Paula's story. The temptation to idolise a relationship, to try to find all of your security in it, doesn't disappear once you say your vows. It's also a temptation for me to doubt God's plan for my marriage when things don't seem to be going as well as I want them to.

Paula's book reminds us that we can only be the people God wants us to be when we are saturated in His Word, allowing ourselves to be moulded by it instead of the world's ideology.

I loved her emphasis on grace. It's not about conquering passion with a self control of our own effort, but about understanding the gospel and living a life transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Ultimately, the challenge for all of us is to trust that God knows what's best for us, whether that's marriage or singleness. Paula has encouraged me on my journey and I'm sure she will encourage many other young women to pursue Christ, and end the ongoing cycle of "crushes", daydreams, distraction and heartbreak.

Jesus: man of sorrows

As I've looked at grief and suffering in the Scriptures, these verses have really struck my heart:

'He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.' (Isaiah 53:3-4)

When we walk the path of sorrow, we can know that our Saviour leads us along the way, because He has been there. Jesus knew the pain of suffering. He bore our pain as well as His own. Think about it: the eternal Son took on flesh and submitted Himself to suffer and die. He 'became obedient to death - even death on a cross!' (Phil 2:8). We won't ever understand completely the depths of His suffering, but whenever we suffer, we can know that He understands our grief completely.

Jesus comes as Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23), but from His birth He was rejected, born in humble surroundings and soon forced to become a refugee to Egypt. He worked as a carpenter for 18 years, the 'unknown years' we know virtually nothing about. He led an ordinary human existence in those years and as a manual labourer, a tradesman, He would have known pain and tiredness. Yet, unlike us, He never allowed His own physical frailty to lead Him into sin. He never lost His temper, never said anything He later regretted. He was a man who suffered without sinning.

We like to make excuses for ourselves, don't we? When we're feeling ill or tired, we snap a little more easily, but we shrug it off. I do it all the time! Yet at those times when we're humanly at our weakest, God invites us to draw near, to say 'no' to the opportunity for sin, and 'yes' to deeper imitation of our perfect Saviour. He did it, and by His Spirit He gives us power to do it too.

Suffering in Ministry: Following Paul's example

The apostle Paul gives us an amazing example of someone who followed Christ faithfully in a ministry that was full of suffering. Although he had the joy of planting churches and pioneering gospel work in places where Christ was not known, he also had the hardship of opposition constantly throughout his ministry. Using the book of Acts and Paul's letters in the New Testament, we can build a detailed picture of what his ministry life was like. It certainly wasn't glamorous or free from pain. He faced jealousy from the Jews, who often rejected him (see Acts 13-14). He dealt with deceit and imprisonment (Acts 16), and also had to fend off the false teaching of fake apostles in places where the church was young and fragile (see his letter to the Galatians).

Before Paul was converted, he sought to imprison Christians and even watched Stephen die as a martyr for his faith (Acts 7). So when he became a believer after a dramatic encounter with Christ (Acts 9), he knew that his life would be endangered. Although Acts ends with Paul continuing with a growing ministry, he was martyred in Rome some time later.

Here's what he wrote about his sufferings in ministry:

'To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world – right up to this moment. I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.' (1 Cor 4:11-17)

The scum of the earth! Paul could not have been in ministry for the fame and fortune. Through his suffering he was able to prove his authenticity as an apostle, and when we suffer in ministry, it gives us a similar opportunity to prove how real our faith is to a watching world. Paul urges the Corinthians to imitate him, because his way of life was consistent with his teaching. That's a huge challenge to anyone in ministry! At any point, you should be able to urge your church to imitate you, because you walk the talk. Whether you urge them to or not, they will still be photocopying your lifestyle.

Look at what Paul writes in another letter:

'Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?' (2 Cor 11:24-29)

In all of these pressures on Paul in his ministry, he was made to feel his weakness constantly. But, as he goes on to write, God wants His servants to serve Him in weakness, because then they rely on His strength. Paul writes,

'I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.' (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

When we suffer and we're in ministry, we can't just wish God would take all the pain away so we can 'get on with the job'. Suffering is part of ministry, part of the call, because it's an integral part of following Christ. We have to learn to trust in His grace despite our weakness. I'm challenged by Paul's example, as I see him
☻ constantly in prayer - his weakness driving him to the Lord, not to despair (1 Thess 5:16-18)
☻ taking joy in the gospel - seeing it bear fruit despite his personal suffering (Col 1:6)
☻ rejoicing in the finished work of Christ - knowing his salvation didn't depend on his ministry efforts (Phil 3:7-12)
☻ trusting that Christ is coming - the day of suffering will come to an end (1 Thess 3:13)
☻ persevering in preaching, teaching and discipling - passing on the baton (2 Tim 1:13-14)
☻ praising God's wisdom - understanding that we don't always understand God's ways (Rom 11:33-36)

Let's imitate Paul as he imitates Christ, and call on those around us to do so too.

Suffering in Ministry: Following Christ's example

We know that suffering is an inevitable part of life this side of heaven; we live in a world of death, grief, illness, relational difficulties and all kinds of struggles. But I thought it would be interesting to look at what the New Testament teaches on suffering specifically in Christian ministry. It's no newsflash to know that Christians suffer, but in an era of tele-evangelists asking for cash and a very prosperous Western church in general, you could be forgiven for thinking that those in ministry perhaps were exempt from life's struggles. That's not the picture that Scripture gives at all, and it's not the reality of life in ministry.

In brief, then, here's the deal: as Christians, we will face rejection from men just as Jesus did. Fact. 'If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first.' (John 15:18) The church will be attacked from within and outside continually (just read through the book of Acts, where the apostles dealt with multiple plots, arrests, imprisonment, violent mobs, deception and character assassination). Serving in ministry means becoming involved in this very real spiritual battle. You're going straight into the firing line!

When you're in ministry, then, you need to be prepared for trials. You need to imitate Christ in those trials, maintaining joy and faithfulness despite suffering, knowing that those around you will imitate you and follow your example.

The Example of Jesus Christ
I could write blog posts on all of these points, but I'm going to keep it brief!
☻ Prayer. Don't forget that Jesus lived on earth as a human, and He lived His life in perfect dependence on His Father, shown in His need to pray constantly. (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23, Luke 6:12, Luke 22, John 17 for some examples)
☻ Trust. He continued to trust God's plan even when personally rejected and ultimately crucified. (eg. John 19:11 where Jesus tells Pilate ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.')
☻ Giving to others. He constantly had hoards of people coming to Him for healing and teaching, and He ministered to them with compassion. (Matthew 9:36)
☻ Singing in the shadow of the cross (Matthew 26:30). After celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples, where He taught them the true meaning of this festival was to point towards how His body would be broken and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus sang a hymn then went out to Gethsemane, where He would pray in agony of spirit then be betrayed, arrested, and sent to the cross. Despite the weight of this knowledge, He sung praise to His Father (probably Psalms 113-118 which were usually used at this feast). In our sufferings (which must be meagre in comparison), we should do the same.

Ecclesiastes: making sense of suffering

When I think about the pain of grief and suffering, I come to this conclusion: anything which wakes me up out of my apathy and loosens my grip on this world, and increases my longing for the next, is an act of God's mercy and grace in my life. I may not like it and it may not be comfortable, but, like a fire drill, it is essential to prepare me for my heavenly home.

I think this is the main thrust of the book of Ecclesiastes. Suffering, toil and grief on the earth remind the philosopher that everything on earth is, in a sense, 'meaningless': that is, it lacks an eternal value, and in the sweep of even human history many of our endeavours turn to dust just like our mortal flesh. Life is beautiful, precious and fragile; it is also frustrating, unfulfilling and painful. The life we experience as fallen beings is not the life we were designed and created for. We are terrified and unsatisfied with the concept of death because we were never meant to taste it. The futility of our lives and our world was not there in the beginning, and one day will be removed. Only in God's new creation can we really know true life, life to the full, life in abundance, life without limits.

So the main point of Ecclesiastes is the necessity of fearing God in a fallen, and frequently confusing and frustrating world (ESV study notes). The book is full of penetrating observations which spur the listener on to deeper thought and reflection.

'He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.' (Ecc 3:11)

Every human being wants to find out and understand all the ways of God in the world, but he cannot, because he is not God. Yet the faithful do not despair but cling to Him: 'fear God and keep His commandments (Ecc 12:13). This is true wisdom.

Rather than becoming embittered by what God has not granted, we should enjoy all the gifts He has given.

'There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance' (Ecc 3:1-4)

'In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.' (Ecc 7:14, ESV)

Let suffering do its work - let it teach you of your own mortality and fallenness. May it drive you to the feet of your Saviour, and make you cling to His love alone above all the securities this world can offer. May it open your eyes to see Him more clearly and understand something more of eternity.

5 Scriptures for Suffering

Just want to let the Word do the talking here! Here's 5 passages I have found so so helpful in times of suffering:

Psalm 90
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!

2 Corinthians 1
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

1 Peter 1
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Romans 5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 8
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Job: God's response

The key to God's response to Job's questioning about his suffering is in the first sentence (notably, a question, of a series of questions):

'Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?' (38.2)

The friends have accused Job of speaking without knowledge repeatedly (though they are guilty of the same offence), and Job's assertion of his blamelessness is based on his knowledge of his own situation. But the point is, Job doesn't have the knowledge to understand God's actions. The reader, via the prologue section where Satan is given permission to afflict Job, already has knowledge of Satan's testing of Job that he himself does not have. God's repeated questions to Job firstly reflect Job's questioning of God, and secondly draw Job's attention to all the things in the wider universe, beyond simply his own suffering, that he does not understand: from the foundations of the earth (38.4), the boundaries of the sea (38.8), the dawning of each day (38.12), the constellations (38.31), the calving of the does (39.1) and the callousness of the ostrich (39.13-18). The point is, there is so much going on in the world that we don't even consider, let alone affect or govern. Part of our sense of entitlement to know and understand now why suffering has come into our lives is rooted in our proud desire to be 'like God', just as Eve was tempted back in Genesis 3. But, just like the unfathomable details of creation, these things are beyond our knowledge - because we are not God!

Job has demanded justice from God, and complained that his righteous living should have protected him, but God shows him that he can't comprehend justice on a global scale: 'Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low... Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.' (40.12-14) Job has to embrace his dependence on God, because then he will know the joy of salvation.

Job is humbled and awed by the Lord's revelation. He confesses and repents: 'I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted... Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me; which I did not know.' (42.2-3)

The conclusion of the book shows that God gave Job 'twice as much as he had before' (42.10). His community is re-established as his three friends are humbled and need Job's mediation (ironically as they perhaps sought to be mediators for Job themselves). The ESV study Bible notes that Job ends up receiving comfort primarily through his matured relationship with the Lord. Job's comfort does not lie in getting the answers to his questions about his own suffering and the wider concept of justice, but in knowledge of God's character, the security that everything is in His hands.

Job: Elihu's role

As I was working through the book of Job, I was grappling with what the role of Elihu was meant to be (see chapters 32-37). Commentators seem reluctant to applaud his words to Job, as the book itself doesn't give much comment on whether they are right (though God's vindication of Job suggests Elihu is not 100% on the mark). However, he does bring a new dimension into the discussion, which so far has been about why God could bring such suffering on Job when in his own eyes he was blameless. Elihu feels that Job has become too self-preoccupied in his perspective on his own suffering, and he may well be correct in this. What profit has come from the long debate Job has been having with his friends? Certainly no peace.

Elihu's intervention reminds Job he is just a man, and 'God is greater than man' (33.12). Although Elihu perhaps misinterprets Job's words as him claiming to be sinless (which his making offerings would contradict), I think he does have a certain level of discernment and wisdom in his counsel. He says firstly that to Job's complaint he has no answer for his suffering, that God is speaking all the time and uses suffering to discipline man and remind him of his mortality (ch 33). He describes a man brought to the point of death and redeemed; his joy is therefore great (33.27-28). The suffering has worked good in his life by bringing him to a place of praise and gratitude. Given that Job doesn't die, but is later restored, this pattern plays out in his life and may show us some meaning behind it.

Elihu also gives some statements of truth which serve to remind Job -and the reader- of the core truths about God's character that suffering has made Job question: 'Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.' (34.12) He also reminds Job that God doesn't owe us anything -in fact, He could make everything perish if He wanted to, and it would be comparable to our own sense of right to knock down and rebuild our own house if we wanted to.

With his statement that 'His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps' (34.21), it reminds Job that God wasn't looking the other way when all this tragedy came upon him. This ties in with the beginning of the book where God brings Job to Satan's attention; He sees Job in his loyal faithfulness.

Elihu also points out (perhaps similarly to Eliphaz in 22.2-3) that God does not profit from Job's righteousness. 'If you are righteous, what do you give to Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?' (35.7)

In chapter 36 a host of lyrics from the Psalms are used to reinforce the central message: it is worth trusting God and serving Him because ultimately those who do not 'perish' and 'die without knowledge' (v12). For a man of God, his story is that of the Psalmist's: 'He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness.' (v16 - see Ps 4.1, 18.19, 31.8, 118.5, 23.5 and 36.8) As a side note, quite a few of the Psalms really sum up Job's journey and story such as Psalm 4 'You have given me relief when I was in distress. the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. Be angry, and do not sin... Offer right sacrifices,and put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.'

Elihu urges Job to remember that though he may be righteous, he is still just flesh. God is God! And so above us, beyond our comprehension in every way. I find these lessons helpful and instructive, even if Elihu isn't completely 100% accurate in his assessment of Job's situation.

'Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
the number of his years is unsearchable.' (36.26 - see Ps 90.2, 102.27)

'The Almighty—we cannot find him;
he is great in power;
justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.' (37.23 - see Ps 99.4)

Job: seeing Christ as the answer

Ultimately, Job's suffering is only given an answer with the meaningful suffering of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.

Job is brought to the point where he realises the 'otherness' of God. He understands something of the divine mystery, and he feels keenly the gap between him and his Creator.

'For He is not a man, as I am, that I might answer Him, that we should come to trial together. There is no arbiter between us.' (Job 9:32-33a)

Job needs a mediator, and so do we. The Bible clearly tells us that we find the mediator we need in Jesus Christ:

'For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus' (1 Tim 2:5).

It is a wonderful thing; Jesus makes the sacrifice once and for all for sins (Hebrews 10). He died for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn 2:2) and made the propitiation that no one else could. Think about it: if Job, even Job, with all his righteousness, had died on the cross, what would have happened? Would the sky have turned dark and rocks split open and the dead been raised? No. There would have been no atonement, and no resurrection. Only Jesus could fulfil this role uniquely as the mediator because He was both God and man, and in sinless perfection, He could bring us to His Father.

In a stunning glimpse of gospel-clarity, Job sees that resurrection is needed to solve the mystery of suffering: 'For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.' (Job 19:25)

Only God has power of death (Job 38:17). Christ's victory over Satan will ultimately answer all the human frustrations of suffering and injustice. Redemption in Christ gives a final answer to Satan's accusations by justifying the ungodly (Rom 4:5).

'He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them... He did this (offered sacrifice) once for all when He offered up Himself.' (Heb 7:25-27)

'For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.' (1 Cor 15:22)

We have only ever known this world to be full of suffering and death since Adam fell; Jesus offers the only solution to our fallen human condition. In sending Jesus, God wasn't pressing the 'pause' or even the 'stop' button on the world's suffering; He was entering into it Himself to deliver us eternally. The rest of our earthly life will continue to be marked with suffering as part of our mortality, but we can be made right before God through Jesus Christ and spend an eternity in His perfect new creation where there will be no more tears (Rev 21).

Jesus is not only our mediator, but our friend. He is acquainted with sorrow (Isa 53:3), and He gets how we feel, and He is not lacking in compassion for us:

'For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' (Heb 4:15-16)

His nail-marked hands hold ours as we walk through life with all its shadows and pain. Each step takes us closer to seeing Him face to face in an eternity without suffering.

Job: finding the end of yourself

God seems to use suffering in our lives to make us see the limits of our own strength. Look at Job: he was a righteous and wealthy man. But the danger of this is that you can too easily trust in your own resources and character as a protection from trouble. Job discovered his righteousness did not bring him immunity from suffering, and this is the big theological problem of the book: Job's friends reason (and with good Scriptural foundation) that God is just and will bless the righteous, therefore Job must have sinned to bring about this calamity. The reader -and Job- knows this is not the case, and yet how could God still bring about this suffering?

In a good sense, Job's friends' knowledge of the truth (that God is good and will punish the wicked) gives reassurance in the topsy-turvy time of trial that the righteous will be blessed and the wicked will be cut off. But their understanding is limited, and their theology doesn't have room for innocent suffering, ultimately experienced in the cross of Jesus.

However, even though Job is right in speaking of himself as innocent before God, he still needs to acknowledge God's right to be God. God doesn't owe us anything. The things Job has lost were gifts in the first place. Even in our piety, we can't save ourselves; we need a mediator. Job needed to realise that his sacrifices weren't enough; he couldn't make his own atonement, let alone for others. His suffering drives him to realise his own neediness, as he says 'Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?' (Job 6:13).

When God does something we don't understand, the temptation is to give up on the divine plan and see God as a human adversary who doesn't do things logically or rationally (see the imagery in Job 16). In suffering, you are forced to see the 'otherness' of God. You understand more that you don't understand Him. God is just, but His justice is deeper than straightforward rewards and punishments in this life.

'My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart' (Job 17:11).

Job reaches the end of himself, but then begins a journey to seeing the hope of resurrection.

Job: the voice of grief

This year one of my resolutions was to work through the topic of grief and how to deal with it from a biblical perspective. It's been a journey! And I started with Job because it's a pretty good place to start when thinking about the Old Testament stories of grief. He loses almost everything he has, from his children to his possessions to his health (see Job 1-2). But he finds his way to the place of praise: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)

It's hard to worship God through suffering - this is why Job is tested in this way. He does worship, but not without questioning, as the book continues. It's not an easy journey for him.

As you read through Job's speeches, you get a real sense of what I call the 'voice of grief'. These are words which reflect the sense you get when you're grieving that you'll never be happy again. Read Job 7:
'Has not man a hard service on earth,
and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?
Like a slave who longs for the shadow,
and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,
so I am allotted months of emptiness,
and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’
But the night is long,
and I am full of tossing till the dawn.
My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;
my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle
and come to their end without hope.

“Remember that my life is a breath;
my eye will never again see good.' (v1-7)

I love the way that Scripture gives us an honest depiction of gut-wrenching grief here. This sense of everything being empty, and a restless frustration, is perhaps a necessary part of the all-consuming stage of grief. However, these ideas can become lies the enemy uses to keep you in despair. When tragedy occurs, Satan sees an opportunity to bring people into bondage. Endings always bring new beginnings, but Satan strives to keep us out of the new place God has prepared by keeping us in the past. It's too easy, in your hurt, to question God and let this become a barrier. We can start to think God isn't good and can't be trusted. But James 1:17 affirms that God is good and He can't be anything else. We don't have answers -we know 'in part' (1 Cor 13:12)- and trust will always require us to accept unanswered questions. (See Joyce Meyer's teaching 'Overcoming Grief' here).

Feeling guilty?

At Faithfit today we were talking about our goals for health and fitness, and we talked about our varying struggles with guilt when we fail to meet those goals. At the prayer meeting on Sunday night, we were talking about the need generally for more conviction of sin in order to see more fruitfulness in the church. As I've been thinking about it, it seems to me that there's a lot of guilt around, but not much true conviction. It got me reading up on what conviction really is and how we should deal with it biblically.

Guilt is a common emotion we all experience (Christian or not) when we do something wrong we are ashamed of. But conviction is something only the Holy Spirit can work (see John 16:8). Conviction is seeing God's holiness and feeling an utter dread of sin when we see how it offends God. The devil wants us at this point to feel paralysed in condemnation, but the Holy Spirit uses our conviction to drive us to the cross of Jesus. Our conviction helps us to value the cross as we should, because it is through the cross that Jesus took on the wrath of God upon sin so that we wouldn't have to experience it ourselves, if we are trusting in Him. Our conviction also helps us correctly to view God, and not view Him simply as a kind Friend. He is our Friend, but He is also awesome in His majesty and perfection. We need that sense of awe too.

Conviction of sin is necessary for someone to come to true faith in Jesus, but it doesn't stop at a one-time conversion experience. Conviction is continuous in our lives as long as we are living on earth, because we still sin. Our sin is paid for at the cross, full stop, but as part of our sanctification, God is making us to be more like Jesus every day, and conviction is an integral part of that process.

Nancy Leigh deMoss teaches on brokenness, and she explains it as a lifestyle of responding in humility and obedience to the conviction of God's Spirit and His Word. True conviction means there's no more blame on anyone else, no more ifs or buts, no comparison game, but just broken humility like the tax collector: ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ (Luke 18:13) I definitely find it easier to be the Pharisee in this story! He's the one who compares himself to everyone else and finds himself to be in the right before God, but he fails to see his own self-righteousness. He's so busy being religious and fasting and giving money that he's neglected to search his own heart.

It can be tempting, growing up in a Christian home or a 'respectable' family, to view sin as something that somebody else does. To view sin as the big mess-ups, like stealing or cheating or drug addiction or adultery. Nancy's list of 'respectable sins' really convicts me: wasting time, self protection, talking too much, eating or drinking too much, having a sharp tongue or a critical spirit, overspending, fear, worry, selfish motives and complaining. Some of the goals we've been making at Faithfit aren't really to do with sinning - like my goal to drink more water! But some of our goals are to do with character traits we want to build to be more like Jesus, such as self control. While I don't think we should use our goals as a legalistic measuring standard of how well we're doing before God, perhaps there is room for us to reflect on whether the barriers to us meeting our goals could be sinful patterns of behaviour in our lives, or even idolatry.

So let's keep it up, ladies, because our motive is to glorify Him! And when we do fail, let's take a moment to see if this is something we should feel convicted about - in which case we need to take it to the cross, confess it to the Lord and to each other, then move on in freedom.

'Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.' Proverbs 28:13

Ezra & Nehemiah: A need for fasting

It's hard to imagine what life was like for the people of Israel after they went into exile. Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians with great violence and brutality, as recorded by Jeremiah in Lamentations. But empires come and empires go, and in 539 BC, the Persians defeated the Babylonians and absorbed the lands of Israel and Judah into their territory. The next year, Cyrus allowed the people of Judah to return home and rebuild the temple of the Lord. Around 458 BC, another group of Judean exiles returned under Ezra's leadership (ESV study Bible).

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah (often viewed as one book) give us a historical narrative about these returns to Palestine, but with important theological lessons about God's covenant faithfulness. The exile was not the end of the story for God's people, and the book of Ezra shows an amazing turnaround of these pagan rulers giving favour to God's people and actually commissioning them to re-start their religious community centred around the temple. The rebuilt temple was nowhere near as great in grandeur as the first, so it was a bittersweet reopening (see Ezra 3), but the fact remains that God had preserved for Himself a remnant. He had not wiped out the descendants of Abraham. He still had plans to prosper them (Jer 29).

It was a great challenge for this broken, battered community to live distinctively and faithfully to the Lord. They had been in exile for 70 years. As they come back to the Word of God and the Law of God, they have to come to terms with their own disobedience and figure out how to move forwards. Ezra's leadership is bold and strong as he urges the people to obey the commands of the Lord, even at great personal cost (such as the removal of foreign wives and children - see Ezra 9-10). What struck me looking at these narratives was the place of fasting in the post-exilic community, as an integral part of their repentance and turning back to the Lord.

Fasting is not something we talk about very often. It is not something we do very well, I'm guessing (if my own practise is anything to go by). In OT Law, it was only prescribed for the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16), which was fundamentally about purification from sin. The people were charged to 'afflict' themselves (v29) and 'do no work', which suggests that fasting and prayer was part of this holy day where their sins would be dealt with before God in the Holy of Holies. In the offerings and the goat sent into the wilderness, God gave His people a vivid picture of their sin being atoned for, which ultimately pointed to Jesus' death on the cross. So I'm not suggesting we should go back to OT Law and fast like we're trying to add something on to Christ's work- He said, 'It is finished'! (John 19:30) But it's interesting that during the exile and afterwards, fasting became something God's people did when they realised their need for God. You could look at Esther calling a fast before she was to appear before the King to try to stop the killing of the Jews (a situation of desperation, see Esther 4). You could look at the prayerful life of Daniel and how he fasted and prayed when he realised the 70 years of exile had passed and God had promised through Jeremiah that He would bring the people back (Daniel 9). In Ezra, he fasts and falls on his knees in intercessory prayer when he hears of the mixed marriages of the exiles (Ezra 9). Nehemiah fasts and prays over an extended time when he hears of the state of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1). Why did they fast? Because they were desperate. They were full of grief over sin (not always their own sin, but the sin of the nation, of their community). They wanted to humble themselves before God and pray, and abstaining from food was an important part of that. It showed repentance (you could also look at Nineveh in the book of Jonah for that).

Why don't we fast? Because we're not desperate. We want to see God move, but we're not desperate enough that we're willing to give up the things we rely on each day to get us through - this isn't just our three meals, but other things too like social media, our mobile phones. I read something on Revive our Hearts where the speaker made a point that you wouldn't congratulate someone on being very self-disciplined if they managed to eat three meals a day. Imagine it: 'Well done! You actually managed to eat breakfast, lunch AND dinner!' It's something we take for granted, unless we're ill. Well fasting is meant to show us that the same commitment we have towards feeding our bodies is the commitment we should have in prayer. We NEED God more than we need food to survive (Jesus told the devil 'Man shall not live by bread alone' in Matthew 4:4 when He was tempted to turn stones into bread during a 40-day fast).

I know it's easy with fasting to become legalistic. In fact, Jesus warned His disciples not to fast like the Pharisees, to make a song and dance about it, and do it for human praise and attention (Luke 18:12). But He did teach on fasting as though it was meant to be a regular part of life for His followers - 'when you fast...' (Matthew 6:17). He was questioned on why His disciples didn't fast, and He replied, 'But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.' (Mark 2:19) Until Jesus comes again, there is sin, there is suffering, there is wrong-doing in the world. There is desperation. So fasting is to be part of following Christ until that day when He puts everything right.

If we don't fast, it's like we're saying there's nothing to grieve over. Our culture doesn't do grief. We're told not to focus on the bad things. But biblically, we should! We should grieve over the sins of our nation. We should mourn the hypocrisies and failures of the Church. We should deeply feel the horror of our sin and in the midst of our gratitude to Christ for making our atonement, it's not always wrong to set aside special time to fast and pray for victory over habitual sin. I'm not saying 'fast and God will listen to you'. I'm just trying to recognise that Scripture tells us there IS a need for fasting, and I know I need to do it a lot more than I do at the moment.