Did you try fasting this week? Strange practice, fasting. My wife has an injured back and it has been giving her a lot of pain for about a month now. I’ve been praying. I’ve fasted too. I hurt for her. I’m praying for healing and her pain to stop and our doctors to have wisdom and our finances to handle it and to be honest . . . I’m worried. And I’ve decided that worry is a really strange practice. It’s natural of course, right? Nothing embarrassing about it, right? After all, I’m worried about my wife, my best friend. So why do I feel that I’m my worry is a weakness? Now it gets bizarre, it’s because Jesus said we didn’t need to worry. I feel like I’m letting God down, letting ya’ll down. I know God’s got it. My wife’s life and health and healing and the doctors and the money and the paperwork and whatever, God has got it taken care of. So, since I’ve got something out of sync, I re-read the book, the manual, the word, the wisdom and looked again at Scriptures related to worry. You know what? Jesus didn’t slam anybody for caring enough about someone to worry, he just made it real clear that God has the situation taken care of. In fact, it looks like times of worry come and go. When they do, just keep our focus on God. So, I will continue to pray and care and fill out paperwork and be grateful for a job with insurance and thank God for handling our problems. I’m also praising God for giving my wife a strength of character to go through this time of difficulty with a gentle grace. God is truly wonderful isn’t he!

Your pastor,

I mentioned during the sermon that I would list the passages I referenced related to fasting. I’ll just hit a verse or two, you can read around it for the context. After study and prayer during the last few weeks related to understanding the passages and sharing insights with ya’ll, I realize that I have not opened myself fully to God in that area. I’m asking God to help me with that. Well, to help you get started, here’s the passages I mentioned:

We started in Mark 2:18-22 and added Mark 2:23-28 about Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath.

For our survey of fasting in the Bible we looked at 1 Samuel 7:6 related to national repentance and confession, plus Nehemiah 1:4 & 9:1-2. I also read Joel 2:12-13. I summarized 2 Samuel 12:16 related to personal repentance. Fasting as part of prayer or inquiring of God, I referenced Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:3, then Ezra 8:21-23 and then read Esther 4:15-16. Prayer and worship, Luke 2:36-38 and the prophetess Anna. Later, Acts 13:2-3 was about the church at Antioch fasting as a part of worship and then fasting as a part of prayer. I also read portions of Isaiah 58 and the insights into integrity of fasting. I also referred to Luke 18:9-14 and Matthew 6:16-18 with Jesus’ teaching on integrity in our worship including fasting.

Take a look, study, pray, see where God leads you.

Your brother,

brad

We’re going to study Luke 24:13-35 tomorrow, Jesus walking with two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Can you imagine what that must have been like? To walk along for 7 miles talking with Jesus. Kicking up the same dust, drinking from the same water bags, enjoying the journey with Jesus. Plus, Jesus explaining how he fulfilled the prophecies about Messiah in the Old Testament. A chance to really “get it,” one-on-one time with Jesus. Yet, that’s what Easter is all about. A chance to walk one-on-one with our risen, living Savior Jesus. And if we accept our new lives in Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and walk one-on-one with Jesus all the way to Heaven. Walking to Emmaus can become our walk to anywhere and everywhere in life, walking together with Jesus. This Easter, my prayer is for all of us at Live Oak to walk the paths of life with Jesus, our risen Savior. He is Risen!