Basil of Caesarea: Privation

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Basil of Caesarea: Privation

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Isaiah 58:5

“Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. True fasting is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood and perjury. Privation of these is true fasting.”

Basil of Caesarea (330-379) in Homily I.

When this posts, Jenni and I will be en route to Prague, Czech Republic. We appreciate your prayers for rest and strength for our service in Czech Republic and Ukraine through 5 April 2024.

Isaiah, the prophet, proclaims that fasting must come into view not merely as a physical act, but as an experience that leads God’s people to spiritual transformation, or more specifically, humbling themselves.

Similarly, Basil calls for privation of evil, anger, slander, and falsehood. These represent spiritual fruits we gain from the physical act of fasting.

I pray your experience of Lent this year has led to less eating or social media and more feasting on the Word of God and prayer. Less spending and more giving.

I pray your privation results in spiritual fruits starting with humility coupled with temperance, patience, service, endurance, and rich generosity.

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Basil of Caesarea: Steadfast companion

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to Him, but his great anger is against all who forsake Him.” So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Ezra 8:21-23

“Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful; fasting makes lawgivers wise. Fasting is a good safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon for the valiant, and a gymnasium for athletes. Fasting repels temptations, anoints unto piety; it is the comrade of watchfulness and the artificer of chastity. In war it fights bravely, in peace it teaches stillness.”

Basil of Caesarea (330-379) in Homily on Fasting.

Fasting strengthened Ezra and the people for their journey in today’s Scripture. And it aids others as they employ this spiritual tool. But it requires faith, courage, and fortitude to employ.

Notice the nuances Basil draws out. It “gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful.” It “makes lawgivers wise.” Ever wonder why more people don’t employ this spiritual tool?

We learn the answer in today’s Scripture. They forsake God and trust their own plans. Perhaps you can relate? I know I can. We tend to make this error in judgment.

We might say, as Ezra could have said, “I can just trust the soldiers and horsemen to protect us.” So the temptation to trust in what we can see in front of us is always there.

We must fast from the tendency to look after ourselves. Fasting serves as a “steadfast companion” that reminds us instead to put our trust in God.

Today Jenni and I depart for Frankfurt, Germany and connecting to Prague, Czech Republic. We are fasting and praying like Ezra for safe travel and fruitful service in Eastern Europe and Ukraine through 5 April 2024.

You can still give in support of this strategic trip by designating your gift to Eastern Europe: Project Order, Ukraine: Project Structure, or Ukraine: Project Tiny Houses. Click here to give.

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Saint Patrick: Greed

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matthew 16:26

“The Almighty turns away the gifts of wicked men. He who offers sacrifices from the goods of the poor is like a man who sacrifices a son in the sight of his own father…

Those riches which he has gathered in unjustly will be vomited out of his belly. And now the angel of death comes to drag him away. He will be mauled by angry dragons, killed by the serpents tongue. Moreover, everlasting fire is consuming him.

So, woe to those who feast themselves on things that are not their own. Or, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his own soul?

It would take too long to discuss or argue every single case or to sift through the whole of the Law for precise witness against such greed. Sufficient to say, greed is a deadly deed. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.”

Saint Patrick (387-461) in The Confession of Saint Patrick: The Classic Text in New Translation, translated by John Skinner (New York: Image, 1998) excerpts from chapters 8-9.

I love three things about St. Patrick’s Day.

Firstly, the day always happens during Lent. And as a result, it serves as a day to remind me to give my life in sacrificial service to God, like Patrick.

Secondly, when I read aspects of his confession, I see why his ministry had such power and authority. He spoke biblical truth pointedly and prophetically to corrupt behavior.

On this second point, I need to echo his message today. People give their lives to the accumulation of wealth, a behavior that runs counter to biblical teaching.

If that is you, let me remind you that your surplus does not belong to you. God has blessed you to have resources to enjoy and share. Put them in play lest they demonstrate your misplaced trust.

Thirdly, when I consider the impact of His teaching, that is, to win a nation, it gives me confidence that it can happen again today. That’s why with our work at GTP we aim to build into local, faithful servants of God.

I not only want to be like Patrick myself. I want to multiply Patricks in every nation. At GTP, we now have 69 country coordinators, like Sasha Volyanyk in Ukraine, a brother with whom I will serve in Ukraine shortly.

He’s like a modern day Patrick. He has served with YWAM in Ukraine for more than 20 years. And he loves GTP and our resources so he serves as GTP Country Coordinator for Ukraine.

Right now he coordinates efforts that share the gospel, make disciples, and minister to IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) by providing them with a tiny house and a Christian community of support.

On this special day, please make a gift to support our program work in Ukraine from 21-31 March 2024. You can learn more about our work there by viewing these two documents: Project Structure and Project Tiny Houses.

Click here to give. And our greatest need right now at GTP is monthly “where needed most” giving here.

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Augustine of Hippo: Epitome

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Matthew 6:25

“Christians must always live this way, without any wish to come down from their cross – otherwise they will sink beneath the world’s mire. But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make even a greater effort during the days of Lent. It is not a simple matter of living through forty days. Lent is the epitome of our whole life.”

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in Sermon 205.

I am preparing the fourth and final zoom for the Journey through Lent with GTP. I am calling it “Life after Lent” because, as Augustine rightly put it, “Lent is the epitome of our whole life.”

This explains why Jesus gave us instructions in the Sermon on the Mount about giving, prayer, and fasting, and why God’s people have observed Lent since the days of the early church.

These disciplines are not formulaic or magical but formational. They transform us as we practice them. Without them we become overcome by worry and sink beneath the world’s mire.

Determine one aspect of Lent you want to continue after Easter. Tell one person to hold you accountable. And remember, Lent is like Spring Training for baseball. The regular season starts on Easter Monday.

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Hesychios of Jerusalem: Abstain and Refrain

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

“Let us therefore approach fasting with a radiant face. Let us greet it with gladness in our souls. And let us not so much abstain from foods as refrain from sins. Let us not appear humble on the outside to men while being shown to be arrogant in our souls to the Master. Let us not give to the poor while acting rapacious with others. And let us not flatter God with words while destroying our brethren with our deeds. Let us always keep in mind the words of the Apostle: Seek peace with all, and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord. Rather, keeping a fast from both foods and from all evil things, let us say to God: You have mercy on all, for you can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they might repent. For to you is due all glory, to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.”

Hesychios of Jerusalem (d. 450) in Fasting.

This represents the concluding statements in the treatise, the last words of Hesychios on fasting. And he seems to have saved the best for last.

This one sentence seems to sum up the discipline: “let us not so much abstain from foods as refrain from sins.” That’s what fasting aims to do.

Read this post again and ask the Holy Spirit if there are any disconnects in your life. Heres’s what Hesychios would say to each of us.

Do you appear humble yet have an arrogant heart?

Do you give to the poor and yet act rapacious toward others?

Do you flatter God with words and harm other with deeds?

Ponder these questions and if you sense any inconsistency in your life, take it to the Lord in confession and prayer. Fast from that habit or behavior, and ask the Spirit to help you chart a new course.

“Let us not so much abstain from foods as refrain from sins.”

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Hesychios of Jerusalem: Most useful

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Exodus 33:11

“Fasting is not only most useful for sinners, but is also advantageous, in certain moments, for the righteous, as we have shown above. By fasting for forty days and forty nights, Moses entered into the cloud and saw God as no one had ever seen him. God himself bears witness concerning this, saying, If there should arise among you a prophet to the Lord, I will be known by him in a vision, and I will speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: mouth to mouth I will speak with him, and face to face, as if one should speak to his friend. This unique vision was afforded to the prophet by fasting, and the face of the one who fasted was changed into a kind of divine lightning-flash of the unapproachable Light; and it gave to the prophet tablets inscribed by the finger of God.”

Hesychios of Jerusalem (d. 450) in Fasting.

I am having continued issues with my website. On top of that, we are getting hammered with a winter storm. I guess better late than never, here’s today’s post.

Let us lean into fasting, for through it, we shed our fleshly ways and, if the Lord wills, come to a place where we see him face to face.

This is a powerful reality, made possible by the the most useful discipline of fasting. It’s useful for everyone, both sinners and the righteous.

It opens the door for the unworthy to meet the unapproachable, for the supernatural relationship.

And in the Scripture, both Moses and his young aide Joshua come into view. It reminds me to continue to pour into the next generation.

This reflects the focus of my work with GTP. Discipling and empowering stewards to have a deep relationship with God.

And then teaching and coaching them to help ministries follow God’s righteous standards for flourishing and sustainability.

Right now I am praying for support for upcoming travel and program work in Ukraine (Project Structure and Project Tiny Houses), in Eastern Europe (Project Order), and the Eastern Caribbean (Mobilizing Caribbean PAGs).

Click on the words to see how your support could make a difference in those places. And our greatest need is monthly “where needed most” giving here.

And want to know more about fasting? Join the GTP Lenten Zoom on Fasting this Friday at 5am Denver time. Register here to get the link.

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Hesychios of Jerusalem: The Rewards of Fasting

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” 1 Samuel 1:10-17

“Fasting has the ability to make even those who are sterile pregnant on short notice, to change an infertile womb into fecund soil, and to give children who are prophets as a reward for abstinence. For what is it that we have been taught by divine scripture? And Hannah was despondent, it says, and she wept and would not eat. Yet fasting gave the sterile woman the prophet Samuel. Do you see the rewards of fasting? Do you see the kinds of fruits it produces for those who make use of it? How it dries up the wellsprings of fornication and instead opens up wombs withered by sterility? How it prunes the thorns of sin planted by thoughts and never brings forth the fruits of impiety? Yet godly fasting is not only able to accomplish all these things; it also has the ability to make gentle those who are cruel and to draw compassion from those who lack it, softening the harshness of the stubborn as in a forge.”

Hesychios of Jerusalem (d. 450) in Fasting.

Today’s reading from this ancient treatise reminds me of the miracles fasting can work in our lives. As I read this, I was reminded of sins and habits fasting has rooted out of my own life.

I thought of miracles I have prayed for and witnessed related to provision or healing.

And it inspires me to consider what fasting will look like in my life after Lent. I want to make it an ongoing and weekly discipline. I want to lean into what that might look like. Care to join me?

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Hesychios of Jerusalem: Propitiation and Pure Fast

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brothers so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17

“Elijah fasted for forty days and received the keys of the heavens, so that, when he should desire it, he might command the rain and, when he should desire it, he might bring it forth through fasting and prayer.

Our Savior, who committed no sin and in whose mouth was found no guile, fasted for forty days and put the devil to shame. But he fasted in order to provide us with a model, that through fasting we might be empowered to attain the propitiation of sins.

Let us, therefore, keep a pure fast, beloved, concerning which the apostle James said, This is pure worship, to visit brethren in their affliction, and to keep yourselves undefiled from the world.”

Hesychios of Jerusalem (d. 450) in Fasting.

Propitiation and Pure Worship are lofty ideas and yet, through fasting, we can find their practical significance as we start a new week.

Hesychios teaches us that Elijah fasted and was given the keys to heaven, to unlock refreshing rain to a dry and thirsty land. His fasting foreshadows the work of Jesus.

When Jesus fasted, he emerged victorious over the devil and provided us with a model. That model positions us for fruitful ministry that washes sins away as it positions God to do all the work (and get the glory).

In that sense, when we follow the model of Jesus, when we fast for forty days each Lent, we learn how to put apply the atoning sacrifice of Jesus (or the propitiation) so sin no longer reigns in our lives.

If that’s too complicated, follow his example of James. Let your fast lead you to care for others who suffer and to keep from being polluted by the world.

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Hesychios of Jerusalem: Godly Fasting

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them. Matthew 15:11

“Godly fasting, when undertaken with reverence, holy prayers, and almsgiving, is the root and foundation of piety. For God does not desire abstinence from bread and water, but abstinence from wicked deeds. Because it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what proceeds out of his mouth — these are the things that defile a man.”

Hesychios of Jerusalem (d. 450) in Fasting.

This post was scheduled for 9 March (my son’s birthday) and due to technical issues out of my control, it never went out. So I am reposting it for the 11 March post. Happy belated birthday, Sammy!

I have been back to a fasting regimen this week since I have been home. It’s far more difficult to engage while traveling and much easier when I am at home.

And I have also been doing research this week on fasting as I have been preparing the slide deck for the GTP global zoom on the topic next week.

Today I appreciate how Hesychios quotes Jesus and reminds us of the purpose of this act of piety. It aims to get our attention to rid ourselves of the things that defile us.

Because we fast for ourselves with God and not for show with others, let me make my remaining comments private in nature as fasting our physical bodies to our inner persons.

As we find ourselves in the heart of Lent, about half of the way to Easter, ask the Spirit if there is any habits that need to go or comforts to which you may be too attached.

Whatever the Spirit tells you. Fast from the habit. Let go of the comfort. The goal of fasting in Lent is abstinence from wicked deeds to create space for what God desires for us.

Wicked in the biblical sense of the word is not a green woman with a black pointed hat. And wicked is anything, including what is good, this is not God’s will and best for us.

And a shout out today to my son, Sammy who turns 28 today. Happy Birthday, Sammy! I pray that only good and not evil goes in an out of you, all the days of your life.

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Hesychios of Jerusalem: Blameworthy and Praiseworthy fasting

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” Jonah 3:1-5

“There is blameworthy fasting, and there is praiseworthy fasting. Many, even though they fast, commit murders; and many, even though they fast, consume and devour others.

The Ninevites fasted and were saved, and by fasting they changed the wrath of God. And their fasting put an end to the judgment that had been decreed against them. For the prophet said, Yet three days and Nineveh will be overthrown. He did not say, “After three days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” If he had said “after three days,” it would have been destroyed. But yet three days indicates that “I will suffer you for this amount of time without repentance. I suffer you for three days yet, and, if you do not repent in these three days, then the city will be destroyed.” And they would not have repented in this amount of time if not ‘through the three days,’ that is through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, the Jews fasted and took counsel that they might kill the apostle Paul. Jezebel declared a fast and killed Naboth and took the vineyard of the poor man. Fasting with murder—what kind of fast is this!”

Hesychios of Jerusalem (d. 450) in Fasting.

I have been having some difficulties with my website and yesterday’s post did not go out. To read it, scroll to the bottom. It’s worth the effort.

Today’s post continues our Lenten exploration of fasting and gives biblical examples of good and bad fasting.

On the one hand, it served as a praiseworthy and powerful tool to “overthrow” a great city. While Hesychios seems to have his numbers off (it took 3 days to go through the city but the word from the Lord was that they would be overthrown in 40 days), he brings out a very important point as a keen observer.

The oracle from God was not that Ninevah would be destroyed in so many days but that it would be overthrown.

That’s what good and praiseworthy fasting does. It overthrows the forces of evil that dominate our lives, the fleshly desires that seek to consume and destroy us. It causes us to let go of our plans and agendas and embrace God’s will. In that light, it leads to repentance.

Sadly, that neither happened with the Jews nor with Jezebel.

These two groups exhibit blameworthy fasting as they used the fast to unify the people around a corrupt agenda. There’s the lesson for us. Don’t bring an agenda to fasting. Make fasting a time of letting go of your agenda and taking hold of God’s agenda for your life.

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