Archives by: Gary Hoag

Fasting Day 34 of 40 | Sixth Saturday of Lent

“For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.” Nehemiah 9:21

In today’s Scripture, we hear the Levites call the people to repentance by reminding them of God’s faithfulness. In similar fashion, in his letter “To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem,” Jerome writes with candor.

“You say you are a Christian; lay aside the weapons of the heathen. It is for them to learn from you to confess the resurrection of the dead, not for you to learn from them to deny it. Or if you belong to the enemy’s camp, show yourself openly as an adversary, that you may share the wounds we inflict on the heathen. I will allow you your jest about the necessity of nursemaids to stop the infants from crying; of the decrepit old men, who, you fear, would be shriveled with winter’s cold. I will admit also that the barbers have learnt their craft for nothing, for do we not know that the people of Israel for forty years experienced no growth of either nails or hair; and, still more, their clothes were not worn out, nor did their shoes wax old?”

Jerome of Stridon (c. 342-420) in “To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem,” in The Principal Works of St. Jerome, ed. by Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: CCEL), p. 947.

Imagine this written to you in modern language: If you are a Christian, act like one. Christians should influence others and not the reverse. Pick a side. Hear sarcasm about silly objections. As God looked after Israel He will look after and sustain you. Confess the resurrection in life after Lent.

God, I chose the side of Jesus and to confess the resurrection. Amen.

If you were charged with following Christ, would the evidence convict you?

Fasting Day 33 of 40 | Sixth Friday of Lent

“Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle and make forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames and forty silver bases—two under each frame.” Exodus 26:18-21

The tabernacle had forty silver bases on a side. These bases gave structure to the mobile tent which housed the presence of God as His people wandered through the wilderness.

Walter Brueggemann notes. “The tabernacle is a ‘portable temple,’ which is appropriate for a displaced people in transition… the proposed tabernacle guarantees a combination of presence and mobility.”

Walter Brueggemann in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 1 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994), p. 884.

Some people reading this might be in some sort of transition. Others might remember one well. Regardless, you can imagine the feeling of displacement. Or in plain terms, you have no place.

Today’s post proclaims good news to such folks. As God was with them in the tabernacle, since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, God is with us in times of transition though sometimes we may feel lost.

On our Lenten journey three disciplines – giving, prayer, and fasting – have taught us to share, surrender, and sacrifice. Today we anticipate the transition to life after Lent we can do so with joy knowing that the risen Christ is with us and will help us live differently one day at a time.

God, help me transition to life after Lent as a transformed person. Amen.

Journal on this: How do you want to live differently in life after Lent?

Tell a person close to you what you write. Ask them to hold you accountable.

Fasting Day 32 of 40 | Sixth Thursday of Lent –

“Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” Genesis 7:4

Can you imagine the work of building the ark and then hearing the message of today’s Scripture? And notice seven and forty appear in it. That seems fitting as this event would shape all of human history.

Ambrose of Milan writes. “How wise also was Noah, who built the whole of the ark! How just again! For he alone, preserved of all to be the father of humanity, was made a survivor of past generations, and the author of one to come; he was born, too, rather for the world and the universe than for himself. How brave he was to overcome the flood! How temperate to endure it! When he had entered the ark, with what moderation he passed the time! When he sent forth the raven and the dove, when he received them on their return, when he left the ark, with what moderation did he make use of these occasions!”

Ambrose of Milan (c. 340-397) in The Duties of the Clergy 1.25, ed. by Philip Schaff (New York: Union Theological Seminary), pp. 86-87.

How did Noah do it? How did he navigate the tempest in a temperate way?

And how can you overcome the floods of life, endure seasons of waiting for God to act, or experience deliverance through storms?

The answer is in Genesis 6:9: Noah “walked faithfully with God.” That is the purpose of Lent to teach us to walk with God in a temperate way.

God, I want to walk with you in temperate way like Noah. Amen.

Know anyone who reminds you of Noah. They walk faithfully with God. They live generously and selflessly when everyone else is greedy and selfish. And they exhibit temperance.

Thank them for their example in your life.

Fasting Day 30 of 40 | Sixth Wednesday of Lent

“Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.” Romans 15:2

When George Friedrich Handel performed the masterpiece known as “Messiah” just before Easter, he did not do it alone. He had forty people in his orchestra. After an outstanding performance, an influential person lauded him for the entertaining evening. In response, he said, “I should be sorry if I only entertained them; I wish to make them better.”

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) in “Anecdotes of Handel” as related by the late Dr. Beattie in The Lady’s Magazine (London: Robinson, 1808), p. 192.

Today’s post relates to all those who live, give, serve, and love in roles that aim to help people. This applies to most every job out there. Make it your aim to make people better. But don’t do it alone, following the example of Handel, rally others to join you like his orchestra of forty.

This matches the apostle Paul’s exhortation to each person in the church in Rome. He wanted everyone involved. And don’t just bless people you love, touch everyone in your reach. That’s why Paul says to please your neighbors. You might win new believers in the process!

To do this you need to listen well, notice details, and pay attention. You gained these skills on the Lenten journey. Put them to practice in life.

Lord, I wish to make people better. Help me do this. Amen.

Make a list of ten neighbors whom you can please for their good and for God’s glory. Next to each name, think of a way you can bless that person. Base your comments on your capacity, resources, and God’s leading. Then go have fun blessing them before Easter.

Fasting Day 30 of 40 | Fifth Tuesday of Lent

“David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.” 2 Samuel 5:4

Lent teaches us to fear the Lord. We learn this from looking at the life of David. And we gain insight from listening to Teresa of Ávila.

This excerpt comes from Interior Castle. “I must give you one warning: be not too confident…David was very holy, yet you know what Solomon became. Therefore, do not rely on your enclosure, on your penitential life, nor on your continual exercise of prayer and constant communion with God, nor trust in having left the world or in the idea that you hold its ways in horror. All this is good, but is not enough, as I have already said, to remove all fear; therefore, meditate on this text and often recall it: ’Blessed is the person that fears the Lord” (Psalm 112:1).

Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) in Interior Castle (Grand Rapids: CCEL), p. 40.

Since Teresa used the castle motif for the spiritual journey, imagine a castle made of stones. We build our lives one stone at a time, engaging practices like giving, prayer, and fasting to detach from the world and attach to God. We do these disciplines to learn how to live life after Lent.

But this post comes with a warning. Don’t assume others will follow you! Teach your children and grandchildren. They don’t need things to grasp life with you. Teach them to fear the Lord. The rest will fall into place.

Lord, help me meditate on your Word and model fearing You. Amen.

Do you have any little people in your life?

How might you do Lent with them in future years to teach them the fear of the Lord?

Fasting Day 29 of 40 | Fifth Monday of Lent

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2

Philotheos of Sinai was a Christian monk who served as head of Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula around the year 900. He wrote “Forty Texts on Watchfulness” to help people devote themselves to prayer. The forty texts survived in the Philokalia, a collection of texts from the Orthodox Christian tradition from the years 300 to 1400.

Philotheos of Sinai writes, “Where humility is combined with the remembrance of God that is established through watchfulness and attention, and also with recurrent prayer inflexible in its resistance to the enemy, there is the place of God, the heaven of the heart in which because of God’s presence no demonic army dares to make a stand.”

Philotheos of Sinai (c.900) in “Forty Texts on Watchfulness” in Philokalia 3.17 (Holy Books) p. 607.

As we think about prayer during Lent, we do well to follow the advice of Philotheos. Start with humility and the remembrance of God. Then we establish ourselves with watchfulness, attentiveness, and prayer. Why?

Many of his forty texts warn us that the evil one attacks in places we least expect or when we have our guard down. His advice helps us stay close to God, dependent on God, and surrendered to God.

God, I devote myself to watchful and thankful prayer. Amen.

What might watchful and thankful prayer look like for you? Talk about it with a friend.

The watchful part relates to spiritual alertness to the attacks of the enemy and attentiveness to abiding with God. The thankful part links to the blessings of complete surrender and trust.

Watchful and thankful prayer serve as the basis for generous living.

Feast Day 5 of 7 | Fifth Sunday of Lent

“Then He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.” Matthew 15:36

Today we recall the seven loaves that Jesus used to feed four thousand people. What a feast! Or was it? Is it possible to feast wrongly?

Jeremy Taylor offers keen insight here. “Do not seek for deliciousness and sensible consolations in the actions of religion, but only regard the duty and the conscience of it; for although in the beginning of religion most frequently, and at some other times irregularly, God complies with our infirmity, and encourages our duty with little overflowings of spiritual joy, and sensible pleasure, and delicacies in prayer, so as we seem to feel some little beam of heaven, and great refreshments from the spirit of consolation, yet this is not always safe for us to have, neither safe for us to expect and look for; and when we do, it is apt to make us cool in our inquires and waitings upon Christ when we want them: it is a running after Him, not for the miracles but for the loaves; not for the wonderful things of God, and the desires of pleasing Him, but for the pleasures of pleasing ourselves.

Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) in The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living (Grand Rapids: CCEL) p. 273.

Many people come to Jesus for what they think they can get. That would be the wrong kind of feasting. Don’t let that be you.

Jesus, I want more than loaves. I want to learn to please You. Amen.

Celebrate today not what you get from Jesus, but for the priceless gift of a having relationship with Jesus. Write a prayer of thanksgiving.

Fasting Day 28 of 40 | Fifth Saturday of Lent

“And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?” Hebrews 3:17

As a metaphrast, Symeon collected stories and sermons of the saints. Read his paraphrase of a Homily on Hebrews by Makarios of Egypt.

“People who think it is impossible to attain through the Spirit the ‘new creation’ of the pure heart (2 Corinthians 5:17) are rightly and explicitly likened by the apostle to those who, because of their unbelief, were found unworthy of entering the promised land and whose bodies on that account ‘were left lying in the desert’ (Hebrews 3:17). What is here outwardly described as the Promised Land signifies inwardly that deliverance from the passions which the apostle regards as the goal of every commandment… To protect his disciples from yielding to unbelief the apostle says to them: ‘Make sure, my brethren, that no one among you has an evil heart of unbelief, turning away from the living God’ (Hebrews 3:12). By ‘turning away’ he means not the denial of God but disbelief in His promises.”

Symeon the Metaphrast (c.900-987) in Philokalia 3.297 (Holy Books) p. 831.

Think today about what Lent delivers us from and what it leads us to.

The disciplines of giving, prayer, and fasting deliver us from disbelief to new life. How? They put us in a place of reliance upon God. There we discover His faithfulness. And He makes us new creations in the process.

God, deliver me from disbelief to trust in Your promises. Amen.

By now in Lent, the Promised Land – life after Lent – starts to come into sight. Journal with Jesus about what you want life to look like.

Fasting Day 27 of 40 | Fifth Friday of Lent

“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.” Acts 7:30

Have you sensed a call from God? Yet you find yourself feeding sheep?

“Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs… God sent him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared and told Moses to go and bring forth His people… In the beginning Moses realized that he was the man to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in the individual aspect, but he was not the man for the work until he had learned communion with God. We may have the vision of God and a very clear understanding of what God wants, and we start to do the thing, then comes something equivalent to the forty years in the wilderness, as if God had ignored the whole thing, and when we are thoroughly discouraged God comes back and revives the call… We have to learn that our individual effort for God is an impertinence; our individuality is to be rendered incandescent by a personal relationship to God.”

Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) in My Utmost for His Highest (Oswald Chambers Publications Association Limited, 1963) excerpt from reading for October 13.

God did not need Moses to do anything for Him. God wanted Moses to deliver the people with Him. What is God calling you to do with Him?

God, I surrender to your training and discipline. Revive my call. Amen.

Practice Lent to deepen your walk with God. Decide what disciplines you will continue in life after Lent to stay responsive to His call.

Fasting Day 26 of 40 | Fifth Thursday of Lent

“Then once again I fell prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the LORD’s sight and so arousing his anger.” Deuteronomy 9:18

Yesterday, we read about the forty martyrs and one who fell away losing heart in 320. Today we notice that Peter of Damascus (c. 1156) recounts the response of Basil the Great (330-379) regarding the one who fell. Basil seems to take the posture of Moses in today’s Scripture – humble, grieving, and praying for people not to fall away into eternal fire.

“One of the forty martyrs lapsed, as Basil the Great says, ‘Gleefully the prince of evil entrapped the mean-spirited Judas, one of the twelve; he snatched man from Eden and ensnared one of the forty martyrs.’ Grieving for him the same Basil the Great says, ‘Foolish and worthy of our tears is he, for he went astray in both lives: in this life he was destroyed by fire and in the next went to eternal fire. And I see many others, numberless, who fell; not only unbelievers, but also many of the fathers, in spite of all their labors.”

Peter of Damascus (c. 1156) in Philokalia 3.111 (Holy Books) p. 679.

This post teaches us lessons about life and prayer.

For life, it’s not how you start but how you finish that matters. For prayer, we learn that we can finish well with God’s help or follow the lapsed one to eternal fire.

God, I want to finish well and not fall away. Please help me. Amen.

Think about your weaknesses. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you not fall but stand firm in the face of trial and generously aid others on the way.

If you want help in this area, you can freely download my ebook entitled, Finishing Well, here.